Person 4: Twin Destinies: An Alternate Dimension Story
by Inferlest
Summary: This story is told as if both forms of the main character from Persona 4 existed as twins, Souji Seta and Yu Narukami. Sorry, I suck at Summary. Anyways, my pairings go as follows. SoujixNaoto, YuxRise, YosukexChie (Lightly), suggested KanjixYukiko, and another that's not yet up and running. I hope you enjoy!
1. Introduction

Persona 4; Twin Destinies

An alternate dimension re-telling.

They stood out amongst the other people waiting at the station, idly passing time as they waited for the train to arrive. As they stood there, an advert played on the large screens behind them. A perky, feminine voice drowned out the idle chatter of the other would-be passengers.

"I'm tired of diets, enough with going to the gym! Good thing there's something even I can handle!"

One of the boys started at the sudden break in the monotony, turning around to stare at the beautiful idol playing in the water and drinking the advertisement's source of revenue, Quelorie Magic, while the other simply sighed, staring at the tracks dully.

Both boys had brilliant silver hair, and possessed striking eyes of a similar silver color. Both were dressed in the same clothes, but managed to make their style uniquely their own. The boy who had turned around to the large screens wore a loose-fitting black jacket, buttoned from the middle down, with a collared white shirt underneath, and black pants and shoes, with a silver watch adorning his right wrist. The other boy was dressed in the same clothes, but instead chose to wear his jacket completely open, standing with his left hand on his hip, the same watch as the other boys adorning his left wrist.

As the advertisement ended, the train rolled to a stop in front of them. As the doors opened, both young boys grabbed their bags and boarded alongside the others around them. Finding a set of open seats, the boys stowed their bags above them, and sat down, glad to be off their feet, and settled down for the long ride ahead of them. They closed their eyes, drifting slowly off to sleep.

* * *

A Midnight black limousine drove down a fog-covered street, humming quietly as it disturbed the air around it as it moved. Inside, a young woman with almost pale-blond hair sat in a spacious blue room, holding a book, head bowed and eyes closed. An older man with pointed ears and white hair sat adjacent to her, hands folded over his mouth under a long nose, eyes also closed. The room contained a small bar on the left, filled with glasses and drinks, a small screen in the middle. An open bench seat was on the right, separated from the seat the woman sat on by a small side-table jutting from the room's wall. In the middle of the two occupants sat a small table, covered by a light blue tablecloth.

Suddenly, the woman's eyes opened, as if she had sensed someone entering the room. The man opened his eyes only seconds later, revealing small black irises and bloodshot eyes, a voice as smooth as the fabric covering the room emanating from behind his hands. "Welcome to the Velvet Room."

The old man grinned widely, and continued to speak. "Ah, it seems we have not one, but _two_ guests in this realm. What interesting destinies they have!" Chuckling softly to himself, the man continued to stare at his guests, eyeing them with a glint in his eyes.

"Master, this seems…unorthodox. How can we have two guests who share such a fate within the room?" asked the young woman, golden irises gleaming as she looked towards the elder man.

"I am unsure of that myself, my dear, but tis not our duty to question the hands of fate. Now, how about we introduce ourselves to our guests? Ahem…"

The man coughed, collecting himself, and began again. "My name is Igor…I am delighted to make your acquaintances. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those bound by a 'contract' may enter. It may be that such a fate awaits you in the near future. Now then, why don't you introduce yourselves?

The two boys looked at each other, perplexed at the situation. Was this a dream? And if so, how were they both having the same dream? And why was it so…particular? They turned back to Igor, who continued to stare at them with a patient smile playing on his face. The boy with his jacket buttoned spoke first. "My name is Yu Narukami." Yu nodded his head towards the elder man, acknowledging that he had completed his introduction. The other boy spoke up next. "My name is Souji Seta." He looked towards Igor, waiting patiently for the man's next actions. Dream or no, the boys were engaged and interested in what would happen next.

Igor smiled wider than before at the boys introductions. "Hmm, I see. Twins, then? Intriguing. Now, let's look into your future, shall we?" Igor waved his hand, and a set of seven cards appeared on the table in front of him. "Do you believe in fortune telling? Each reading is done with the same cards, yet the result is always different. Life itself follows the same principles, doesn't it?"

Igor chuckled, and continued on, flipping one of the cards. The image appeared to be a building, with a lightning bolt breaking it in two. "Hmm…The Tower in the upright position represents the immediate future. It seems a terrible catastrophe is imminent. The card indicating the future beyond that is…" Igor trailed off, flipping another card over, this one bearing the image of a crescent moon. "The Moon, in the upright position. This card represents 'hesitation' and 'mystery. Very interesting indeed. It seems you will encounter a misfortune at your destination, and a great mystery will be imposed upon you. In the coming days, you will enter into a contract of some sort, after which you will return here. The coming year is a turning point in your destinies…if the mystery goes unsolved, your futures may be forever lost. My duty is to provide assistance to our guests to ensure that does not happen." Igor waved his hand again, and the cards disappeared from the table.

"Ah! I have neglected to introduce my assistant to you. This is Margaret. She is a resident of this place, like myself." Igor gestured to the blonde woman next to him, who nodded and began speaking. "My name is Margaret. I am here to accompany you through your journey." Igor nodded, and spoke again. "We shall attend to the details another time. Until then, farewell…" Igor trailed off, and the room slowly faded to black around the twins.

* * *

The twins woke up, looking at each other, a wordless understanding between them. _That happened, didn't it?_ The P.A buzzed to life overhead, a quiet voice speaking over the system. "We will arrive at the Yasogami terminal in a few minutes. Passengers headed for Inaba city, and Yasoinaba station, please go to the other side of the platform." Souji sighed, standing up and grabbing his and his brother's bags while Yu checked his phone for the message he had received earlier. "Meet us outside Yasoinaba Station at 4 PM." Souji tossed Yu his bag, and they made their way to another seat to prepare to disembark. As they entered a tunnel, Souji sat down and closed his eyes. Suddenly, images flashed though his vision, two pairs of feet moving quickly, a woman fighting and screaming out, the man and woman from the dream he had just had moments ago. He gasped and quickly opened his eyes, startling his brother, who appeared as if he had just seen a ghost. Yu had seen the same thing. A while later, the train pulled into the station, the train's intercom flaring to life once more. "Yasoinaba. Yasoinaba."


	2. A New Home

Authors Note: Hey there! If you're reading this, it probably means you read chapter 1 already! Thank you for that. Sorry about the slowness of the chapters so far, (this ones no different), but I mean to pick it up during or after chapter 3. Setting up Souji and Yu is important, as I'm playing their personalities to be a bit different, so the recap of the story we all know and love needs to be done to achieve this, I think. Again, sorry about the pace of the chapters so far, and thank you for reading!

* * *

The twins stepped off the train alone, the train behind them empty of all occupants. Yasoinaba had been the last stop. Giving each other a look of mild impassiveness, they made their way forward. " _Another year, another place to get dumped off at"._ Souji sighed inwardly, already disliking his current position. Looking to his left, he saw Yu looking around.

"The message said to be here at 4, but…" Yu trailed off, appearing as if he had expected to be forgotten again, like many times before when their parents had gone overseas to work. This had been the standard for the boy's lives since they'd been old enough to walk. For his part, Souji hadn't been expecting anyone to show up. Family or not, people rarely appreciated having the two boys dumped on them, despite having any reason for disliking them. Everywhere they went, the boys had maintained an aloof position from their surroundings, trying to not create any attachment to the people and places they visited for their stays. This city would be no different. A voice brought Souji out of his deprecative reverie, a voice that somehow brought on a sense of nostalgia.

"Hey! Over here!" The twins turned to the source of the voice, a man standing off to their left. He wore a collared gray shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a red tie around his neck, brown-grey pants and brown shoes toning down his image. A brown leather jacket was slung over his shoulder, and Souji noticed a silver watch on his left wrist. Standing behind the man was a young girl, wearing a short-sleeved shirt, with three large stripes of white, pink, and purple, starting at her collar and going down to the bottom of the shirt. She wore a deep purple skirt, or maybe it was brown…hard to tell.

The man seemed familiar, though Souji couldn't figure out exactly why. He knew the man was his uncle, but couldn't recall meeting him before. Yu grinned inwardly, not allowing his facial expression to change from the stoic face it had come to hold, seeing the shyness of the young girl he assumed was his uncle's daughter, making her the twins' cousin. He too felt a sense of familiarity from his uncle, but couldn't place why it had surfaced. While Souji continued to wrestle with it, Yu discarded the thought and made his way over to his two relatives. Souji followed after, giving up on collecting memories from far back.

"Well, you two are more handsome in person than in photo." The man smiled, attempting to break the ice. "Welcome to Inaba. I'm Ryotaro Dojima. I'll be looking after you." Dojima cocked his head to one side slightly as he continued. "Let's see… I'm your mother's younger brother…and that about sums it up."

Yu nodded, greeting his uncle. "Nice to meet you, Uncle Dojima." He looked to his brother, expecting a follow-up greeting. What he saw caused him to raise his eyebrows in mild surprise instead. Souji was grinning genuinely, something Yu hadn't seen in a while, and the infectious effect it had caused him to smile as well. Souji had remembered why Dojima had seen so familiar.

"It's been a long time, Uncle Dojima. Weren't you changing our diapers the last time we saw you?" This statement completely disarmed Dojima, who chuckled as Souji's smile widened.

"Yeah, that was a long time ago. The two of you have really grown, huh? So, you must be Souji, then. Your mother told me you had a good memory, but I didn't think it was that good. Must be that Seta bloodline. My sister always could remember the smallest of facts. I guess I got more of my mother than she did. And that makes you Yu, right? Named after my brother-in-laws family."

The twins nodded, the disdain they had felt moments ago slowly slipping away as they reconnected with their uncle. Dojima looked down at the young girl, pushing her forward a bit. "This here's my daughter. Come on, Nanako, introduce yourself to your cousins." The young girl, Nanako, looked down, and mumbled a small "'Lo" before blushing and quickly walking back behind her father. Dojima chuckled. "What are you so shy for?" Nanako promptly slapped her father's back, eliciting a remark of pain and small laugh at the response to his teasing.

Dojima turned back to the two boys. "Well then, let's get going. My car's over there." Turning toward the parking lot, Dojima and Nanako walked off, with Yu following close behind. Breathing deeply, Souji started forward as well, not noticing the piece of paper that slipped out of his back pocket, nor the unfriendly-looking girl that walked past him.

"Hey…you dropped this."

The girl picked up the paper after catching Souji's attention, handing it back to him. "Thank you" Souji said as he took the paper back, looking to see exactly what it was he had dropped. It turned out to be the note he had made for himself about Dojima's address.

"Whatever, all I did was pick it up" said the girl, looking uncomfortable and…confused? The girl turned on her heel and walked off, leaving Souji standing there.

"Souji, what's wrong?" yelled Dojima. Souji quickly stowed the note and headed for the car, taking the seat next to Nanako.

* * *

Dojima stopped at the only gas station the twins had seen on the ride to the house to fill up. They heard the attendant call out, running over to the car, leaving the delivery truck they had been attending as it drove off.

"Welcome to Moel!"

The boys got out of the car to stretch as Nanako went to find the restroom. Dojima and the attendant were discussing what Dojima needed for the car, and as Dojima walked off to smoke, the attendant walked up to the twins. "Are you two in high school? Does it surprise a couple of city boys to see how little there is out there?" The attendant grinned as the twins looked around. Apparently, Dojima had mentioned their reason for being in Inaba. "There's so little to do, I'm sure you'll get bored fast. You'll either be hanging out with your friends or doing part-time jobs. Speaking of which, we're actually looking for part-time help right now. Give it some thought, why don't you? We don't mind if you're students." The attendant smiled, offering their hand to the twins to shake. Souji and Yu took the hand the attendant offered in turn, not really paying attention to the invitation for work. As Nanako came back, the attendant realized the neglected car still sat there, and ran to fill it up.

As Nanako stared at the twins, Souji saw a bright flash, and felt his head ache suddenly. He stumbled a little, bumping Yu, who looked as if he too was feeling poorly. Nanako came over, somewhat concerned for their well-being. "Are you okay? Did you get carsick?" she asked. "You don't look too good."

Dojima walked back over, finishing his cigarette. "What's wrong? You okay?" Yu nodded as Souji spoke up. "I just felt lightheaded." Dojima smiled warmly. "That's understandable. It must have been a long trip for you two. Why not take a little walk get some fresh air. Let me know when you're ready to go."

* * *

"Alright, let's have a toast." The four were sitting on tatami mats around a small table, an array of take out and juices in front of them. Dojima turned to the two boys. "So, your mom and dad are busy as always…they're working overseas, was it?" The twins nodded, silver eyes slightly narrowing at the thought of their parents. "I know it's only for a year, but getting stuck in a place like this because of your parents…its rough being a kid." Souji nodded, thinking about the past "homes" they'd been stuck in whenever their parents had work, which was often enough that it was odder when they were actually home than out at some family friends place, or home alone. "Well, it's just me and Nanako here, so it'll nice having the two of you around. As long as you're here, you're family. So make yourself at home." Dojima smiled as he finished.

Souji looked down, mumbling his thanks. Yu spoke more loudly, addressing his uncle. "Thank you for your kindness." Once again, Dojima looked shocked, and laughed as he responded. "C'mon, there's no need to be so formal. Look, you're making Nanako all tense." Nanako looked down, embarrassed. "Well, anyway, let's eat."

As Dojima reached for his food, a ringing came from the cell phone in his pocket. Dojima sighed. "Ugh, who's calling at this hour?" He took out his phone an answered. "Dojima speaking." Dojima got up and walked away from the table, speaking to the other person on the line. As he finished, Dojima turned around, looking worn and tired. "Sorry, but I gotta go take care of some business. Go ahead and eat without me. I don't know how late I'll be out. Nanako, you help them out, okay?"

He made his way to the door as Nanako gave a half-hearted "Okay" in response. Dojima yelled back as he opened the door, asking Nanako about the Laundry.

"I already brought it in." replied Nanako, looking towards the door.

"Alright. Well, I'm off." And with that, Dojima was gone.

Nanako sat down and turned on the T.V, the weather report coming on, reporting rainfall for the next day. "Let's eat." Said Nanako, reaching for her chopsticks. The boys looked at each other. Souji wondered if he should try to strike up a conversation when Yu spoke up again.

" _Beat me to the punch_ " Souji thought wryly as Yu asked about Nanako's dad.

"He…investigates stuff, like crime scenes. My dad's a detective." Souji's head snapped up, interested in the answer Yu had received. Souji loved anything to do with the world of crime scenes and criminal justice. He hoped he could get to know his uncle better, maybe even get some pointers on becoming a detective someday. Yu smiled, noting his brothers reaction at the word "detective", but was more interested in how Nanako dealt with the absence of her father. This seemed to happen often. As the local news came and went, a Junes commercial came on, the telltale jingle playing.

"Every day's great at your Junes"

Nanako sang along, amusing the twins as they watched her enjoy herself. As Nanako turned around, she noticed the untouched food on her cousin's plates. "Are you going to eat?" she asked, sparking the boys into eating.

* * *

After the meal was finished and the dishes cleaned, the twins went up to their room. The furnishings were simple, a couch against the wall with enough room for two people. A metal shelf sat against the door-side wall, next to a clock and calendar for the year. A dresser sat facing the couch wall, a T.V stand with a T.V next to it, and a small set of drawers sat next to that. Behind the couch were two large windows, covered by some grey curtains. A desk sat next to the couch, with a small chair for working or studying. A worktable had been placed in front of the couch, small and low to the floor. A pair of futons were lain out lengthwise towards the table, meant for the pair to sleep on. It was a comfortable looking room, at least. The twins dressed for bed, laying out their new uniforms in preparation for school the next day, an unusual occurrence as the boys usually were able to take a day off after moving before starting their new school each year. Souji laid down as Yu turned off the lights, thinking about what the next day would bring.


	3. First Day of School

Sorry about the length here. trying to compile a bit, get the next few chapters off the ground. this one's wordy, so I ask for your patience with me. Thank you for reading, and I'll get the next chapter out soon. it should be getting more exciting, with the actual changes to the story happening soon (not just the different wording in conversations like it has been.)

* * *

Souji opened his eyes, disturbed by something around him. He started as he woke up, not recognizing the space around him, or what little he could see of it at least. Turning around, he could see Yu lying beside him, tossing around as he too felt the strangeness of their surroundings. A heavy fog lay around them, a floor of misshapen red tiles stretched out as a path before them.

Yu finally woke up, reacting much in the same way as Souji had. "Where are we?" Yu asked, looking at his brother, seeking some kind of answer that might explain their situation.

"Your guess is as good as mine, man." replied Souji, standing as he did so. Helping his brother up, Souji looked around some more, hoping to glean any scrap of information, but to no avail. Furrowing his brow, Souji thought about their predicament, and decided on a course of action. "I guess we gotta go forward, follow this path to wherever it leads." He looked at Yu, who nodded in agreement.

"Better than standing around. Let's go."

As they proceeded forward, a voice resounded in their heads. "Do you seek the truth…?" The two faltered, looking around for the speaker they had heard, but the fog remained as thick as before. Looking at each other again, they moved forward warily, caution in their footsteps. "If it's the truth you desire, come and find me…" Again, the mysterious voice filled their heads, and the twins stopped, feeling the hair on their napes rise. They broke into a run, a feeling of fear beginning to rise in their guts. They reached the end of the path shortly after they began, seeing a blockade of some kind.

"Well, I guess…this is the end of the path then." Souji said, breathing lightly from the combined effect of adrenaline and fear.

Yu nodded in agreement. "What's this then?" he wondered aloud, looking at the wall in front of them.

Souji spoke up, a sixth sense determining the answer for him. "It's a door…. someone's behind it. Maybe the owner of that voice?" Yu looked at his brother, silver eyes questioning silently. "Don't ask" Souji responded, waving away the unspoken words Yu had sent his way.

"Well, if it is a door, I guess we should get through it then, yeah?" Yu's half-statement, half-question made Souji grin. " _Great minds think alike, after all."_ Souji thought.

"Yeah, let's go!"

The door spiraled open, and weapons suddenly appeared in the twins hands. Yu hefted a long katana, finding an easy balance to it. Souji stared at the weapons in his hands, a set of bladed tonfa with wrist attachments that left his hands free. Knowledge on how to utilize these weapons burst forth in their heads, and the twins steeled their nerves to step forward.

* * *

Souji woke up with a start, somehow feeling sore. Nanako's voice came from outside the room. "Breakfast ready."

Yu woke up next, always just behind his brother. He rolled his neck, trying to relieve the pain he was feeling. "Was that real? Did we really just…fight some… _thing_?" he asked.

Souji shook his head. "Dunno….whatever that was, we've been sharing dreams recently, it seems. What the hell is going on?"

The boys got dressed in their uniforms, admiring the stylish look they had despite their concern over their dream. Heading downstairs, they saw Nanako serving eggs and toast. "Good morning" she said, setting down the plates.

"Where's your dad?" asked Souji, sitting down to his meal, uttering a quick thanks.

"He already left for work, so I cooked today." replied Nanako, following Souji in sitting down to eat.

"Wow, Nanako, this looks really good!" exclaimed Yu, smiling warmly at his younger cousin, who smiled sheepishly, hiding her face by looking towards the ground.

"It tastes as good as it looks, bro." said Souji, taking a bite of the sunny-side-up eggs. This served only to deepen Nanako's blush, and she mumbled a quiet "Thank you" and began to eat.

As they finished, Nanako looked up at the twins. "You're starting school today, right? My schools on the way, so let's go together!" She looked at the boys hopefully. Souji nodded, wiping his mouth, and Yu responded after swallowing the last of food.

"That sounds great, Nanako. Let's do it!" Nanako smiled widely, pulling at the boys' heartstrings as she did so.

* * *

The rain came down on the trio as they walked across the Samegawa flood plain, hitting their umbrellas lightly. Nanako stopped, pointing down the street." You keep going this way." Turning around, she smiled at her cousins. "My schools this way. Bye!" Nanako walked towards her school, the twins waving goodbye as she did so. As they walked by the intersection in front of school, they heard a squeaking behind them. Turning around, they saw a student wearing orange headphones struggling to maintain control of a yellow bike as he held his umbrella to cover himself. As he went by the boys, he lost control, crashing his bike into a street pole. Bent double, the boy was in obvious pain. Yu winced, and Souji sighed, but neither boy felt that they could do anything to help, so they moved on before the boy could notice them. Arriving at school, the twins looked at the note they had received about the school.

 _Yasogami High School._

 _Homeroom Teacher: Kinshiro Morooka_

 _2_ _nd_ _year hall_

 _Please report to the faculty room to introduce yourselves to your homeroom teacher, and then follow him to class for introductions._

Souji and Yu looked around, finding the faculty room on the right hand side of the entrance hall. Walking towards it, they heard an obnoxious voice screaming from inside it. "Great, not only am I stuck with yet another class of imbeciles like Hanamura again, but I'm getting _**another**_ two transfer students from the city! They better act like goddamn angels if they want to pass my class!" The twins winced; figuring out that the voice behind that door must be their new homeroom teacher.

Souji sighed in defeat as he walked towards the door, figuring this school year was going to be harder than they thought. He knocked loudly, and the voice behind the door grumbled as it got closer to the noise that had interrupted its rant. The door was pulled open sharply, and a man with abnormally large front teeth and a bulging vein on his forehead thrust his face at the twins. "Whaddya want, you ingrates! You should be headed to class right now!" He peered at the twins, looking them over. "Ah, I don't recognize you two. You must be those two city rats transferring to my class this year, eh!?" The silverettes glanced at each other, unsure of what to make of this man.

"Err…yes sir, we just transferred here. Are you Mr. Morooka?" Yu asked hesitantly, feeling palpable hatred emanating off the man.

The man scoffed loudly. "You're damn right I'm Mr. Morooka! I guess you're here to introduce yourselves, try to get on my good side, huh? Too bad! I don't play favorites like those big-city snobs you call teachers! Follow me. I guess I gotta introduce ya to the class." Morooka stormed off, muttering about the consequences of getting on his "shit-list". The two boys looked at each other; Souji bristling at the treatment they had received, Yu attempting to bite his tongue to keep from snapping out at the man ahead of them. They followed after Morooka quickly, deciding it might be better to just shut up and ignore the man's hostility.

The class was chatting idly. Some students complained about their current predicament; being in "King Morons" class, while others were talking excitedly about the "transfer students" coming in from the city. A pale brunette overheard the latter conversation and turned to the boy behind her and to her left. "Transfer students from the city…just like you, huh, Yosuke? Huh? You look dead today."

They boy in question was lying face-down on his desk, arms hanging off the front edge, orange headphones slightly askew. "Yeah, umm…I don't wanna talk about it." he groaned quietly. The brunette turned to the raven-haired girl in front of her, a questioning look in her eyes.

"What's with him?" she asked.

"Who knows" replied the raven-haired girl, looking at the boy with some degree of confusion.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Morooka walked in, two silver-haired boys walking swiftly behind him, looking somewhat peeved. "Awright, shut your traps! I'm Kinshiro Morooka, your homeroom teacher from today forward. First things first! Just 'cause it's Spring doesn't mean you can swoon over each other like love-struck baboons! Long as I'm around, you students are going to be as pure as the driven snow!" Morooka eyed the room carefully, daring anyone to speak up. "Now I hate wasting my time, but I'd better introduce these transfer students. These sad sacks have been thrown from the big city out to the middle of nowhere like yesterday's garbage." Souji's eye twitched; Yu's mouth began to form a slight frown. "And they're just as much of a pair of losers here as they were there, so you girls better not get any ideas about hitting on them!"

Souji narrowed his eyes a bit, fighting hard to restrain himself, while Yu stared daggers at the back wall, silver eyes looking like they were ready to kill. It was bad enough that their homeroom teacher was an ass, but why did he have to voice the feelings they had about being out here, and how did he get them so right? "Tell 'em your name, kids, and make it quick!"

Souji couldn't take it anymore. He looked at his brother on the opposite side of Morooka. Yu turned to look at Souji, an unspoken message and agreement made between them. "Sad sacks, huh?" Yu said loudly, looking Morooka dead in the eye.

"You calling us losers, _sir_?" Souji asked harshly, stressing the sir at the end.

The class gasped collectively; no one had ever gotten on Morooka's bad side so quickly, and they were sure that that was what had just happened. Morooka looked at the two silverettes, glaring death at them. "Hrnh… That's it; you're on my shit list, effective immediately! Now listen up! This town is miles away from your big city of perverts and assholes, in more ways than one! You'd better not even think of getting involved with the girls hear, let alone abusing them! But what do I know. It's not like the old days. Even here, kids grow up so damn fast. Every time I turn my back, you're fooling around on those damn phones, checking your life-journals and your my-places…" Morooka continued on, ranting about "the old days" and how much better they were.

The pale brunette raised her hand, gesturing to the two seats open next to her and the kid with headphones. "Excuse me, is it okay if the transfer students sit here?" she asked, hoping to stop Morooka's droning.

"Huh? Sure. You hear that, your seats are over there. So hurry up and siddown already!"

The twins walked to their seats; Souji sat next to the girl who had spoken up, Yu sat behind her. She turned slightly so that the silverettes could hear her. "Rotten luck for you two to get stuck in this class… Well, we just have to hang in there for a year." She smiled welcomingly, and the twins returned the smile. As they listened to the chatter around them, Morooka called out, telling the students that he was taking roll.

* * *

" _Finally, it's over_ " Souji thought to himself as he stretched his arms up, relieving them from the cramping they had due to staying still for so long. Turning around, he noticed Yu had was nodding off, eyes halfway closed. He reached out and shook his brother awake, and the two packed up what little they had taken from their bags that day. As they stood to go, the P.A bell rang out, alerting the students to an announcement.

"Attention all teachers. Please report to the Faculty Office for a brief staff meeting. All students must return to their classrooms and are not to leave the school until further notice."

Morooka turned around. "Hrnh. You heard the announcement. Don't go anywhere until you hear otherwise." Morooka quickly left, headed towards the faculty office.

The students milled about, hearing police sirens outside. As they questioned one another, a boy ran up to the raven-haired girl in the row in front of Souji, asking her about the announcer from the news, Mayumi Yamano. The girl declined to share whatever information she had, and the boy backed off, only to be replaced by the pale brunette. Souji decided to look away, and sat on the edge of his desk, loathe to start a discussion with the other students around him. Yu had sat back down, and began falling asleep again. Souji couldn't blame him. That dream from last night was still haunting him, and he felt tired himself.

As he was thinking about laying his head down for a while, the P.A came back on. "Attention, all students. There has been an incident inside the school district. Police officers have been dispatched around the school district. Please stay calm and contact your parents or guardians as soon as possible, and quickly leave the school grounds. Do not disturb the police officers. Head directly home. I repeat…"

Chaos followed the first announcement, drowning out the repeated statement as the students became abuzz with concern and excitement. " _It's like a car crash in here. I guess any incident must be exciting in such a small town"_ Souji thought, waking up his brother yet again.

As they stood to leave once more, the pale brunette stopped them, walking alongside the raven-haired girl. "Hey, are you going home by yourselves? Why don't you come with us? Oh! I nearly forgot. I'm Chie Satonaka. You know I sit by you, right?" Chie smiled at the two boys, who nodded.

"Of course. Nice to meet you, Satonaka-san. I'm Souji Seta." Souji smiled, and gestured to his brother, who was still half-asleep. "This would be my brother, Yu Narukami. He's normally the first to introduce himself, but it seems he's a bit slow today."

Yu looked up at that, glaring at his brother, whose eyes glinted mischievously. Clearing his throat, Yu turned to Chie and the other girl. "As my twin brother so… _eloquently_ put, my name is Yu Narukami. It's nice to meet you, Satonaka-san." Yu also smiled, hoping his dignity would recover a bit from Souji's antics.

Chie nodded. "Hey, don't bother with the honorifics. I don't really stand on ceremony. Just call me Chie. Anyways, nice to meet you both." Chie turned to the other girl, who was standing off to the side slightly. "This is Yukiko Amagi" Chie said, nodding for her friend to speak up.

"Oh, nice to meet you… I'm sorry this is so sudden." Yukiko looked bashful, and Chie winced at the apology.

"C'mon, don't apologize like that. It makes me look like I got no upbringing. I just wanted to ask some stuff. Really, that's all."

The four started walking towards the door, when a boy with headphones came up to Chie. The twins recognized him as the boy on the bike from that morning. "Uh, umm, Miss Satonaka…" the boy stammered, pulling a DVD case from his bag, holding it nervously. "This was really awesome. Like, the way they moved was just amazing to see…" the boy bowed quickly, thrusting the case out towards Chie, and spoke quickly. "And… I'm really sorry! It was an accident! Please have mercy until my next paycheck!" Chie took the case from the boy, who started towards the door. "See ya! Thanks!"

Chie ran forward, grabbing the boy from behind and bringing her knee up at the same time. "Stop right there! What did you do to my DVD?"

The boy yelped, and bent over, trying to relieve the pain he felt. Opening the case, Chie's face blanched. "What the…? I can't believe this! It's completely cracked! My Trial of the Dragon!" Chie pouted miserably, and it took all of Souji's willpower not to laugh as he stared at the boy. Yu seemed to be having the same problem, and had to turn his face to allow himself a quick smile.

"I think mines cracked too… C-Critical hit to the nads…" stammered the boy.

"A-Are you all right?" Yukiko asked, looking concernedly at the boy.

"Oh…Yukiko-san…are you worried about me?" asked the boy, his pain somewhat replaced by a hopeful tone.

Chie looked at her friend in disgust. "He's fine, Yukiko! Let's ditch him and go home." Chie and Yukiko walked away. The twin silverettes looked towards the boy, who was still bent double over the floor, trying to breathe normally. Deciding that it might be better for his ego if they didn't try to help him, the pair walked after the girls.

Catching up with them, the group started walking for the gates, but was headed off by a young boy with large black eyes, who seemed intent on talking to Yukiko. His uniform was different from Yasogami's, but the twins didn't know the area well enough to tell which school he was from. "You're Yuki, right? Y-You want to go hang out somewhere?" asked the boy, eyes staring at Yukiko.

"What…? W-Who are you?" Yukiko asked, quite shocked and confused. Students started gathering around, and Souji felt a bad feeling form in his stomach.

The boy started again. "Um, s-so…are you coming or not?" the boy asked impatiently.

Yukiko looked down, and stammered out her reply. "I-I'm not going."

The boy's face contorted in anger. "Fine!" he yelled, and ran off. Yukiko questioned Chie about the event, who explained what the boy wanted.

As Chie finished explaining how creepy the boy was, the bike-boy rolled his bicycle up, commenting one how Yukiko had shot another boy down, just like him last year.

"I don't recall doing that." Yukiko looked shocked, and the boy's face brightened.

"Whoa, you serious? So then, you wanna hang out sometime?!"

Yukiko shook her head "…I'd rather not."

The boy looked downtrodden. "That'll teach me to get my hopes up." The boy smiled, and teased the girls about pestering the twins.

" _Well, at least the people here aren't boring_ " thought Souji.

Yu looked at his brother, a hidden smile playing on his face. _"At least his moods improved"_ he thought, seeing the light in Souji's eyes. The boy got on his bike and headed down the road, and the four students continued on their way home, with Chie questioning the twins about various things.

* * *

" _I can't believe I've been here one day, and already something weird's happened"_ Souji thought as he sat in the bath, washing his hair. He thought back to the walk home, remembering how the group had come across a crime scene, and Dojima had questioned them on why they were there. He also remembered seeing his uncles partner puke at whatever was behind the tape.

Shuddering, he quickly rinsed his hair and drained the bath, not preparing another as he was the last to bath that night. The news had said that the crime scene had been about the announcer, Mayumi Yamano, due to a student having found her body hanging on a large T.V. antenna. Whatever had happened, Souji couldn't help but feel a sense of fear and curiosity. Those dreams that he and Yu had been having…and the images from the train…was it possible there was a connection.

He shook his head, and dispelled the thoughts from his head. Whatever it was, it wasn't worth obsessing over. Getting dressed for bed, he found Yu passed out on his futon, with the lights still on. Souji smiled, and quietly turned the lights off and got into bed. Yu had been tired all day. He deserved to rest now, at the very least. Souji thought briefly about the next day before drifting off to sleep.


	4. Saki and the Midnight Channel

The twins walked along the street to school, feeling rested for the first time since they'd arrived at Inaba. Yu was humming a peppy tune that Souji knew he had heard before, but couldn't quite place. However, his sixth sense told him something was off, and he grabbed Yu's arm and quickly pulled him to the side. No sooner had this been done than a yellow and black blur shot past the twins, ending with a crash near the intersection. The Bike-boy had done it again, this time ending up stuck inside a garbage can.

"S-someone…" they heard coming out of the can.

Souji sighed and looked at Yu. "Help me get him up real quick." he said simply, walking over to the boy, who was rolling around in a rather lopsided circle.

After stopping his motion, and picking him up, Souji managed to remove the trash can from the boy's torso and head while Yu held him in place, aware that Souji's strength might pick both the can _and_ the boy up together. The boy gave a sigh of relief, picked up his bike, and thanked the twins. "

I'm Yosuke Hanamura. Nice to meet ya!"

Yu grinned, "Nice to meet you to, Yosuke. I'm Yu Narukami."

Souji nodded in Yosuke's direction. "I'm Souji Seta. Are you okay, man?"

Yosuke turned to Souji, mouth somewhat agape. "Yeah, I'm fine, though my bike may not be. Did you hear about the incident from yesterday? They found that announcer lady hanging from an antenna!"

The twins nodded, and Yosuke continued on, face full of grim wonder. "You think it was some kinda warning? There's no way something that weird could have been an accident."

Souji nodded again. "I think…you may be right about that. I wish I knew the truth, to be honest." Yu narrowed his eyes, the word " _truth_ " brought back a memory of a memory, a concept he couldn't quite place.

"Dangling a dead body over a roof like that… that's just messed up. Then again, it's pretty messed up to kill someone in the first place." Yosuke looked down at his watch, suddenly alarmed. "Oh crap, we're late."

He looked at the twins. Souji, already guessing what Yosuke was about to say, took off like a bullet, leaving Yu and Yosuke behind. "Wow, does he always run that fast?" Yosuke asked, staring after the sprinting teen.

Yu grinned again. "Yeah, he's got this god-like stamina and strength. Not to mention he's really smart, too."

Yosuke turned to Yu, surprise on his face. "No kidding. Hey, you want a ride? It's a little squeaky, but it should be fine." Yu looked down at the bike, and decided refusing at this point would be rude, despite the obvious danger he'd be placing himself in by riding with Yosuke, who he'd now seen crash twice.

"Sure…" Yu said warily, climbing on behind Yosuke.

"Great, let's see if we can't beat that guy there!" Yosuke smiled, and pedaled hard on the bike, chasing after Souji.

* * *

 _After school_

Souji was packing up, talking to Yu, who had come over and sat on the desk in front of him. Yosuke walked up to the twins, nodding his hello to them. "Hey guys. How're you adjusting to the place?"

Souji shrugged. "Pretty well, I guess. It's nice and quiet here, compared to the city. How about you, bro?"

Yu scratched the back of his neck. "Slowly. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the absence of the hustle and bustle. It's still a little distracting, having no distractions."

Yosuke grinned at the pun. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Coming from Tokyo myself, I'm still not sure what to make of the place. But the air's clean, the foods good…Oh! Have you two heard about the local delicacy? It's grilled steak! Like that's anything special." Yosuke chuckled. "As thanks for this morning, I'd like to treat you two to some. Wanna come?" Just as the twins were about to speak, a shadowy figure appeared from their right.

"What about me, huh? No apologies? My 'Trial of the Dragon'." Chie fumed lightly as she questioned Yosuke. Yosuke sighed, mumbling something about Chie showing up whenever food was involved. Chie turned to Yukiko, ignoring the brunette's complaints. "How about it, Yukiko? Don't you think he should treat us, too?"

Yukiko stood up, smiling lightly. "I'll pass. I don't need to gain any more wait. I need to help out at the inn today, anyway."

Yosuke looked surprised. "Wow, Yukiko-san. Started training to take over the business?"

Yukiko looked down in embarrassment. _"Or is that…shame?"_ thought Souji as he looked at the raven-haired beauty.

"It's not like that." She replied. "I'm just helping out when it gets busy. Well, I should be on my way." And Yukiko walked out, headed for home.

Chie shrugged. "Oh well, we should get going too."

Yosuke looked taken aback. "Seriously, do I have to treat three people?"

Souji chuckled. "I'll pay for myself, Yosuke, don't worry about it. Yu helped you more than I did, anyways."

Yosuke looked up, both relieved and alarmed. "But-"he started, but Souji stopped him.

"No buts. I won't have you paying for me for something so simple."

Yosuke closed his mouth. "Thanks, man. Anyways, Chie's right. Let's get going."

* * *

The two boys and Chie laughed quietly as Chie explained just who Yosuke was talking to. They had arrived at Junes, with Chie complaining that they didn't even serve steak there, and Yosuke explaining why he had to cut his costs down due to Chie's immense appetite, when a young girl had come out the food court, looking tired. Yosuke had immediately dropped everything to go talk to her.

"Is she his girlfriend?" Yu asked, nodding in the two kids' direction.

"Haha, he _wishes_!" Chie said, though Souji noticed the laughter and smile on her face seemed… _forced_ …he made a mental note and continued to listen. "That's Saki Konishi. Her family runs a liquor store in the shopping district. I think she's working here part time, though…" Chie trailed off, turning her gaze to Yosuke and Saki, a wistful look in her eye. "Idiot…" she mumbled under her breath.

The two seemed to be enjoying themselves, but as if she noticed the twin pair of silver eyes looking at her, Saki stood up and came over. "Are you the transfer students? Oh, did you hear about me already?" Saki chuckled lightly "It must be nice to have someone else from the big city to talk to, huh? I don't see Hana-chan hanging out with the other guys much." Saki smiled gently as she said this, and Yosuke stammered a quiet retort in the background. "He doesn't have too many friends, so I hope you two get along with him good. Hana-chan's a good guy, but he can get nosy sometimes. You gotta tell him right to his face when he starts to annoy you." Yu raised an eyebrow; it seemed as if Saki did this often.

Yu smiled as he responded, "Nah, Yosuke's a great guy."

Souji nodded quickly. "Yeah, I agree."

Saki giggled lightly "I'm just kidding" she said as the color returned to Yosuke's face. "Well, my break's just about over. Back to work I go…Laters!" Saki walked off, leaving Yosuke standing there, trying to regain Saki's attention.

As he sat down, Chie began teasing him about his "forbidden romance". "…Dude, it's not like that…." Yosuke turned away, cheeks flaring red. Yu laughed, causing Yosuke's cheeks to darken more. Souji just smiled and shook his head, and looked at Chie. Although her body language said she was enjoying the teasing, her eyes didn't seem to be into it.

"Oh really?" she asked, a gleam of life returning to her eyes. "Well, I know just the thing to cheer up that lovesick heart." Yosuke turned around, surprised and eager to hear what Chie had to say. Chie grinned, liking this reaction. "You ever hear of the Midnight Channel? You're supposed to look into a T.V that's switched off, alone, exactly at midnight on a rainy night. While you're staring at your own image, another person will appear on the screen…and they say that person's your soulmate!" Yu and Souji turned to Chie, cynicism strong in their silver eyes.

Yosuke sighed. "What? For a second there, I thought you were going to say something useful. That's probably just some childish urban legend." He shook his head. "Oh well. Say, what do guys think about that incident yesterday? Do you think it was murder? What if the culprit behind it was still lurking around…heehee…" Yosuke chuckled darkly, putting a maniacal look on to disturb the others.

Yu shuddered, remembering the conversation they had had that morning. Chie looked disgusted. "Geez, you shouldn't joke about stuff like that. Now who's the childish one? All I'm saying is, you guys better try it out tonight."

Yosuke turned, looking at Chie with slight disdain. "No way. We're not doing something stupid like that just because you're into some legend like that, right guys?" He turned to look at the silverettes, seeking agreement in his stance. Yu started to nod, but Souji quickly interrupted him.

"Actually, I'm kind of interested in this. Legend or no, the idea of seeing someone other than yourself on a T.V that's supposed to be off? Sounds…intriguing." Souji flashed a quick grin as his brother paled slightly, remembering the man with the long nose. Souji had imitated him well.

"S-seriously?! Fine, Chie, we'll try your stupid 'Midnight Channel"." Shaking his head in defeat, Yosuke cleaned up his food. "Alright, I'm gonna head on home. Later!" The twins said goodbye to Chie and Yosuke, and walked back to the Dojima residence.

* * *

"It's raining." Yu muttered, watching the news report, seeing the obvious image of Saki Konishi on the screen.

"Why do they even bother? That's way too easy to tell who it is." Souji remarked, shaking his head and giving a deep sigh. Nanako and Dojima were watching the news as well, with Dojima occasionally making remarks about the news and the liquor store. After finishing their meals, the silverette twins made their way upstairs, preparing to watch the Midnight Channel.

* * *

 _Sometime later, close to midnight_

Souji looked around. Yu was nervously tapping his knee, apprehension at what _could_ happen eating away at him. Noting the downpour that was still going on outside, he turned his T.V off, and stared at the screen. Yu turned to face it as well, looking at the dark screen reflecting their images. After a few moments, Souji sighed. "Just a pointless rumor after all." he stated, turning his head slightly to look at Yu.

Yu shook his head. "Oh well, so much for a good nights' sleep anyways" he said, turning towards the futons. He stopped, however, as a dim glow began to fill the room.

Turning around, Yu saw the T.V had come on, but the power was registering as being off. Souji and Yu's jaws dropped, seeing what should have been impossible occurring before their very eyes. Images flashed across the screen; a young girl with shoulder length brown hair seemed to appear in the split-second images shown on the T.V. Lightning flashed outside, and Souji's vision began to blur, a ringing in his ears. "I am thou, thou art I" a voice filled his head, different from the one from the dream-world a few nights ago. "Thou art the one who opens the door." Souji began stumbling from a sudden headache, bumping into Yu who seemed to be suffering from a similar problem. The ringing grew louder, but stopped suddenly.

The twins stood up, looking at the T.V, neither speaking. Looking at each other, they nodded; another unspoken message passing between them. Yu started forward towards the T.V, reaching out to touch the screen. As he did so, the screen glowed, pulsating white and black. His finger slipped in, and Yu pulled away almost instantly, unnerved by what had just happened. Souji reached forward now, touching the screen himself. As his finger began to sink in, he felt a hard tug, and his entire arm was pulled in. as he tried to resist, the pull strengthened, forcing his head in as well. Souji found himself stuck, the T.V being too small to pull in his shoulders as well. He felt a tugging on his waistline as Yu struggled to pull his brother out.

Reaching out with his free arm, Souji braced himself against the dresser to his left, and pushed hard. With a small pop, he fell out of the T.V, knocking Yu down as he fell. Both teens hit their heads against the table, and massaged the spot as they heard footsteps coming up the stairs. "Are you okay?" asked Nanako from outside the boys' door.

"Yeah, we're fine. Just tripped over myself. Sorry to wake you up, Nanako." Yu moaned out softly, as Souji was still cradling the back of his head.

"Okay…" Nanako responded, not sounding convinced. "Well, good night…" Her footsteps became softer as she headed back downstairs. The twins looked at each other, eyes wide.

"Well, guess who's got two thumbs and isn't getting sleep tonight…" Souji murmured as Yu shook his head.

"Bad question. That would be both of us." Yu responded. The twins sat down on their futons, neither saying anything more, trying to understand what had just happened.


	5. Into the TV

Souji sat facing the front of the room, eyes glazed over. Yu sat behind him, struggling once again to stay awake. Neither boy had noticed the other kids getting up around them, the bell having signaled the end of school. Yosuke approached the twins, bringing them back from their sleep-deprived stupor.

"Y-Yo, um…" Yosuke looked worried, and was struggling to find the right words to say. "…well, yesterday on T.V, I…uh…" Shaking his head, Yosuke tried to dismiss his thoughts, avoiding whatever it was he was trying to say in the first place. As he did so, Chie approached, asking Yosuke about the rumor about Saki discovering the body. Souji yawned, blocking out the two's conversation as he did so. Yu tried to pay attention, but felt himself drifting off again. He dimly heard Yukiko say something about needing to work again, but couldn't quite focus. Chie turned to look at the two.

"Whoa! You two look tired. Are you feeling okay?" she asked, mild concern evident in her voice.

Yosuke turned around, looking at the twins, nodding in agreement. "Yeah, you look like you didn't sleep last night. You didn't stay awake all night for…" Yosuke trailed off, a pained look contorting his face.

Chie looked up, eyes wide. "So you did watch it! You actually kept your promise!" She looked pleased, and blushed a little at Yosuke's response.

"What do you mean, 'actually'? I've always kept my promises to you!" Yosuke retorted, looking a little embarrassed. "It's just…" Yosuke continued haltingly, "That thing…the Midnight Channel…it was a little freaky, you know?"

At the mention of the Midnight Channel, the twin's heads snapped up, eyes widening as they remembered the phenomenon that had kept them awake all night. As Chie and Yosuke discussed what they had seen, Souji and Yu talked in hushed tones. "You think they had the same thing happen to them?" Yu asked, eyeing the others out of the corner of his eye.

"I don't think so. Look at them. At the very least, they seem rested. I'll bet they didn't get sucked into a T.V like we did." Souji responded.

"What? What do you mean, 'sucked into a T.V'?" Chie had heard them.

Yosuke was staring at the two silverettes, concern washing over his face as they explained what they'd seen. "You sure you weren't just seeing things? I mean, you look exhausted. Maybe you had a nightmare?"

Souji nodded absentmindedly, rubbing his shoulder where a bruise from hitting the rim of their T.V had formed. "Maybe. I'm not quite sure."

Yu looked up. "You were saying you saw some girl, with brown hair? Wearing our uniform? I think we saw something like that too." he stated, looking back and forth between his brother and the two brunettes.

"Really?" Yosuke asked, confusion evident in his voice. "Well, it sounds like we all saw the same person."

Chie nodded, a small grin playing on her face. "I liked the part where you got stuck 'cause your T.V was too small. That's pretty realistic." Chie broke into a giggle, and the twins laughed with her, easing the tension they felt. "If it had been bigger-"Chie started, but suddenly looked up, and then to Yosuke. "That reminds me! Our family's been talking about buying a bigger T.V." She looked at Yosuke, the unvoiced question obvious.

Yosuke sighed, but smiled at the same time. Souji raised an eyebrow at that, making another mental note for later. "Well, we just got some new shipments in at Junes. Wanna come look?" he looked pointedly at the twins, a mischievous grin forming. "You know, we have some pretty big models. Maybe big enough for you guys to fit in to."

Yosuke's grin widened as Souji glared at him, and Yu mumbled a quiet "Go to hell", a small smile on his face.

"Well, let's go check 'em out then." The twins sighed, but figured it would be better than sitting at home, listening to the rain outside.

* * *

The twins sighed in exasperation. Yosuke and Chie had just finished tapping the T.V's screen, teasing the boys about their far-fetched story. As they moved on to look at other models, the twins stared at the large flatscreen in front of them, doubt forming in their minds. "What if it was just a dream?" Yu wondered aloud, voicing Souji's inner thoughts. The concept had been plaguing him since they'd left the school.

"It's possible…but my head still aches, and my shoulder bruise has gotten darker." Gazing at the screen, Souji had a thought. "S _urely, if it was a dream, it wouldn't work here. But if it wasn't an illusion…"_

Yu looked at his brother, understanding dawning on him. "Don't do it." he said, reading Souji's intent as he looked between him and their surroundings.

Souji shook his head. "I need to know the truth. It's harmless if it doesn't work, anyways."

Stepping forward, Souji placed his hand on the screen, not worrying about any prints left behind. After a short moment, the screen started pulsating black and white, and his hand slipped in. Yu's eyes widened, and he quickly came over to block one side of Souji from view.

"I-is his arm in the T.V?"

Yosuke and Chie ran over, blocking Souji's other side. "What's the magician's secret, huh?" Yosuke stammered out, having trouble processing what he was seeing. Souji looked at the T.V, and grinned. Yu just looked down in defeat as his brother removed his arm, and stuck his head inside.

"Well, that's one way to find the truth." he muttered as Chie and Yosuke swore in shock.

Souji's voice came out of the speakers. "It's pretty spacious in here." he stated simply, as if this was nothing new to him.

"W-what do you mean, spacious?! Urk!" Yosuke grunted, holding his bladder. "This is too much for my bladder. I gotta pee!" he said as he took off, but came back shortly, still holding his bladder. "Crap, there's people headed this way!"

Chie looked around. "What are we gonna do?! We've got someone with his head in a T.V here!"

Inside the T.V, Souji grinned. "Hey, is that Saki-senpai? What's she doing here?" Outside, Yosuke fumed. "What do you mean? There's no way she'd be in there!" As he started forward, intent on pushing Souji in further, Yu looked up, sensing his brother's intent. He stuck his foot out, while grabbing Chie and pulling her in front of Yosuke. "Wha-?" Chie began, but ended as Yosuke tripped on Yu's outstretched foot. He reached out for support to regain his balance, grabbing Yu's shirt and jacket as he did so. In the brief moment between being grabbed and the ensuing fall, Yu sighed, and stoically fell into the T.V as Yosuke and Chie did the same, albeit not as willingly as Yu. The four fell in, leaving no trace that they had been there.

* * *

"Ow!" Chie exclaimed, more-so from shock than pain. She looked around, noticing she was alone. "Wh-where is everybody!?" she squeaked, beginning to panic. As fear began to set in, she heard a muffled voice from below her. "C-Chie….geroff er me" it said. Looking down, Chie's face flushed as she realized just where she was, or rather, who was under her. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry, Yosuke!" she exclaimed, quickly getting off of the poor boy and helping him up.

"Th-that's okay, Chie. As long as you're okay. Ach!" Yosuke bent slightly, rubbing his back left pocket. "I landed on my wallet."

Looking around, he noticed the absence of two people. "Hey…where's Souji and Yu?" he asked, concern in his voice. He jumped as he heard another pair of voices behind him.

"Over here." said the twins in unison.

"Sorry, we were looking around." Yu apologized, looking sheepish as the pair walked towards the brunettes.

Chie voiced the question in everyone's minds. "Where are we?" she asked, feeling her fear begin to surface again.

Souji looked around, placing his left hand on his waist habitually as he did so. "Looks like some kind of recording studio." he said, noting the cameras and lights. "But what's with the floor?" The group looked down, seeing outlines of bodies littering the area, all in black and white.

"This is seriously creepy, dude." Yosuke gulped, uncomfortable with his surroundings. "But still, what is this place? And what's with all this fog?"

Yu shook his head. "Dunno." he stated simply. "Whatever it is, it doesn't seem like we're going to get any information standing around, asking questions."

Souji turned to his brother, eyebrows raised. "Well, what do you propose we do?"

Yu flashed him a quick grin. "Why, walk around and ask questions, of course!" Souji rolled his eyes, but grinned at his brothers antics.

Yosuke and Chie laughed a little, feeling the mood lighten somewhat. "Wow, you're just the eternal optimist, aren't you?" Chie said, smiling.

Yu grinned even wider, tilting his head slightly and shrugging. "I try." was his response.

Souji looked at the group, still smiling. "He has a point. Let's look around, see what else is here."

Yosuke looked at him, concern and fear still apparent. "We don't even know where 'here' is? What if we get lost?"

Souji looked at him, acknowledging the teen's fears. "Well, anything's better than standing here, panicking." He nodded to Chie and Yosuke. "Let's stay close together as much as possible, but stick with a partner in case something happens."

He threw his arm around his brother. "I've got Yu, here. That leaves Chie to you, Yosuke!" He smiled mischievously as the two brunettes blushed.

"Wh-what? What's that supposed to mean!?" Yosuke stammered, as Chie looked down, cheeks darkening.

"I don't mind it, Yosuke…" she murmured, leaving Yosuke staring at her, mouth somewhat agape.

"Err…well; if you don't mind Chie, then I guess its fine." Yosuke sighed, offering her his arm. Souji nodded, pleased that his impulsive action had appeared to turn out well.

"Great! Now that that's settled, let's go!" Souji turned and started walking, a bit slowly so that the others could react and catch up, and headed across one of the catwalks nearby.

* * *

"I can't go with you all looking!" Souji chuckled, while Yu laughed out loud, the twins turning around to attempt to afford Yosuke some slight privacy.

"Eww, Yosuke! Why the hell are you going here?!" Chie squealed, staring at Yosuke with a disgusted look.

"I'm sorry, but I can't hold it any longer…grr! Dammit, I'm blaming you if my bladder explodes!" Yosuke zipped up his pants, turning around and walking away from the wall he had been standing at. "Geez, I couldn't have gone anyways. This room creeps me out too much."

Chie nodded slightly, looking around. "What's with this room anyways? Check out these posters. Their faces are all cut out."

Souji examined a poster on the wall near him, noting what Chie had just mentioned. "They're all the same, too. Whatever lives here has a pretty unhealthy obsession."

Yu looked around grimly, noticing the yellow fog that persisted even in the room. " _What's with this fog, anyways? I feel like it's…rejecting us somehow."_ he thought, shivering as a chill ran up his spine. Yosuke spoke up, drawing Yu's attention.

"Dude, this chair and rope….that kind of arrangement is never good. It's tied in a noose. Is this a scarf?" Yosuke shuddered as he looked on his discovery.

"C'mon, let's go back and look somewhere else for an exit. I really don't like it here." Chie said, looking hopefully at Yosuke, who nodded and grabbed Chie's hand lightly, leading her towards the door. Stopping as he reached it, he looked down and realized what he had done.

"S-s-sorry!" he yelped, tearing his hand away and flinching, expecting a Chie-brand kick. Chie blushed as she herself realized what had happened, but couldn't bring herself to say anything.

As Yosuke slowly relaxed, Yu spoke up. "Does anyone else feel a little…off?" Yosuke nodded.

"Yeah, I feel a little…heavy"

Souji looked around. "Let's hurry back." he said, poking Chie lightly to get her out the door.

* * *

"Wha-what's that?" Chie yelped as she clenched Yosuke's arm, eliciting a squeal of pain as she dug her fingers into him.

"OW! That hurts!" he said, trying to lighten Chie's grip and look in the general direction she was at the same time. The group had returned to what they dubbed the studio room. The twins looked too, silver eyes desperately trying to pierce the fog; the last thing they needed now was someone ambushing them in such a strange place, assuming that whatever was out there could be classified as a person. They saw a large rounded shape moving towards them, the silhouette slowly becoming more and more focused as it moved through the fog.

What came to a stop in front of them took everyone by surprise, and Chie let go of Yosuke's arm, much to the brunette's relief.

"What is this thing? A monkey? A bear…?" she looked towards the rest of the group, who all shrugged.

"What in the world?" Yu said, looking the creature up and down. It appeared to be some kind of animal costume, the lower half primarily colored red, with a white stripe down the middle, adorned by two large red buttons, while the top was blue fur, with a large half-circle for the face, colored peach. It had large oval eyes, a small triangle nose, and a mouth.

"Th-that's what I wanna know!" it exclaimed, somehow appearing to look worried. "Who are you guys…?" It looked at each member of the group in question, lingering slightly on Chie before moving on.

Chie gasped, taking a step back. "It talked!" she squeaked, once again clasping Yosuke's arm tightly. As she yelled at it, questioning what it was, it whimpered and covered its ears, bending down and turning away.

"D-don't yell at me like that…" it whined, looking very scared now. Yu and Souji stepped forward, Souji motioning for Chie to calm down a bit. The twins kneeled a small ways away from the creature, smiling warmly to attempt to calm it down as well.

"We're sorry; we're just a little on edge right now." Souji crooned, Yu turning his head back to give Chie a sharp look as she muttered something impolite.

"Would you mind telling us what you are, first?" The creature turned back, its fear seeming to disappear somewhat as he answered Souji.

"I'm a bear. Can't you tell? I live here by myself." Yu nodded, smiling again. "Where exactly is here?" he asked.

The bear looked confused. "Here is…well…here. I don't really know what all of this is. I've always lived here. It doesn't have a name."

Yosuke did a double-take as he looked at the bear. "Wait…you live here?" he asked, but the bear ignored him.

"If I was you guys, I'd hurry back to the other side." it said, a look of concern slowly crossing its face. "Someone's been throwing people in here. It's a big headache."

Yu stood up, looking questioningly at the bear. "What? Throwing people in here? What do you mean?" he asked, but the question seemed to agitate the bear.

"I dunno who's doing it! I just want them to think before they go doing things like that!" he said, stomping the ground as he did so.

Chie let go of Yosuke, anger surfacing due to the stress she'd been having that day. "Hey, what's your problem? What gives YOU the right to yell at us like that!? What ARE you? Where are we? What the heck is going on here?!" she yelled at the bear, which lost its balance at the sudden increase in volume.

Souji winced. _"Not helping, Chie…"_ he thought, but decided that was best kept to himself. As he stood up, the bear ran around to hide behind him, surprising the team and causing Souji to suddenly become self-conscious.

"I already told you. Anyways, you should hurry back." It said, cowering behind Souji once again. Yu couldn't help but giggle a little at the comical sight. As Yosuke yelled at the bear about needing to find the exit, Souji looked at Yu, hoping his brother could provide some sort of interference. But as Yu started forward, he ran into a pillar of T.V's that appeared as if from nowhere.

"Anyone see where _that_ came from?" he asked, rubbing his nose. As the group piled around the front screens, the bear started pushing them in.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing!" yelled Chie, trying to resist. But the bear proved stronger, and squeezed the hapless teens into the T.V., and they began to fall once more.

* * *

"What a day, huh?" Yu sighed as he settled into his futon, exhausted from the day's events.

Souji grinned as he finished dressing for bed. "That's the understatement of the century, bro." he said, turning off the lights and settling into his futon. He thought about the events that had happened after exiting the strange world inside the T.V. Deciding to think about it later, he closed his eyes and went to sleep, getting an undisturbed rest for the first night since he had arrived.


	6. Persona!

Hey all! For anyone interested, here's a link to my brothers Deviant art page, where you can find Morpheus' image. ( art/Morpheus-543010602) Just a little tidbit; Morpheus is the Greek God of Dreams, so his robe's color significance is shared with the color scheme of The Velvet Room. He's a custom Persona for Souji, and I've delegated him to the Fool Arcana to avoid having "Social Link" issues (as in, the twins won't have different arcana's for their main Persona, meaning the Social links will be assumed to move forward similarly as in the game.) So, without further ado, here's chapter 6 of Twin Destinies!

* * *

Souji's eyes grew wide; he felt a chill go up his spine as he turned around to check on the person he'd come to call friend over the past three days. Yu looked down, silently cursing as he clenched and unclenched his hands, concern and anger plastered over his face.

"Oh my god, Yosuke…I'm so sorry…." Chie whispered, reaching out to comfort Yosuke, but the boy shook her off, turning around and storming off. Souji shook his head, trying to return his thoughts to some semblance of normality.

The principal had called for a school assembly, and the students had obeyed, confused looks on some, excited looks on others; assemblies almost never happened, thus this was bound to be good. Unfortunately, the news was proven to be less than good; Saki Konichi had passed away. Students were buzzing quietly amongst themselves, grief on the faces of all who had known her.

"She died the same way as that announcer, right? That's so creepy…" said a student who had heard the news beforehand, but she quickly quieted down after seeing the harsh gaze Yu Narukami sent her way.

Souji looked at Chie, whose eyes were watering. "Let's go find Yosuke." he said quietly, holding Chie around her shoulders as he led her out of the assembly room and down the first floor hallway, Yu following behind them, quietly daring anyone to comment as they passed.

They found Yosuke by the stairs, looking out one of the windows at the rain falling outside. "Yosuke…" Souji said quietly, drawing his attention. Yosuke looked towards the direction he had heard his voice, and nodded, not noticing Chie's face until they got closer.

"Chie, are you alright?" he asked, noticing her eyes had gone red.

"Wha-"she started to ask, then shook her head. "I'm fine; I just…stubbed my toe." she responded, averting her eyes from Yosuke's. Yosuke grunted, staying quiet for a few moments, then turned to face the group.

"Hey…did you guys check out the T.V last night? Something was bothering me, so I watched it again. I think the girl on the screen…was Saki-senpai." Yosuke grimaced. "Senpai looked like she was writhing in pain…and then…she disappeared from the screen." Yosuke then continued on, describing how he felt that the death of Saki and the death of Mayumi Yamano were related. "That Yamano lady…might've been on that midnight channel before she died." Yosuke said, looking down.

"Are you saying…that people who appear on that channel…die?" Souji asked, trying to make sense of the situation. He felt Chie tense next to him.

"I'm not sure, but I can't just dismiss it as coincidence." Yosuke said. "What do you two think?" he asked, looking at the twins. Yu looked down in thought, thinking about the world in the T.V.

Souji nodded, a thoughtful look appearing on his face. "You may be right…" he murmured, and Yosuke nodded.

"I'm thinking about going back in. I need to find out for myself."

Chie spoke up timidly, an unusual occurrence for her. "Yosuke…don't do this…we should just leave this to the police…" she said, but Yosuke shook his head, annoyance clear in his tone.

"We can't rely on the police. They haven't made any progress in that announcer's death. If I'm completely off-base with this, that's fine! I just…need to know why Senpai had to die like this."

Chie looked at her friend, her face a mix of emotion. "Yosuke…" she murmured, but the boy was already talking and couldn't hear her.

"I need your help, guys." he said, looking at the twins. They silverettes nodded, intent on helping their friend anyway they could. "I'm gonna go ahead to Junes and get ready. Meet me there." he said, and walked off.

After he was out of earshot, Chie spoke up. "I…kinda understand how he feels." She said, voice trembling. "But…" Chie exploded. "We can't be sure we'll be able to get out of there safely! That idiot! Doesn't he see that?! Why does he have to be so… so…so stupid?!" Chie stomped her foot, tears flowing as she shuddered and hiccupped. Yu was taken aback, and Souji grinned in spite of himself.

"Don't worry, Chie. We'll be there for him inside that place." Souji said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Let's get going. All of us." he said, and led the way out of the door, and towards Junes.

* * *

"Chie's gonna be pissed." Yu said as the group noticed their lifeline had been broken.

Yosuke shook his head, and looked at the bear. "You better let us out once we're done investigating here!" he demanded, causing the bear to get upset.

They had gone to Junes, and Yosuke had shown up with a golf club and a rope. Tying the rope around his waist, he handed the other end to Chie. "If something goes wrong, you're gonna have to pull us out." he'd said, and handed the club to Yu.

"Sorry, Souji, but that's all I could find." He looked towards the boy apologetically, but Souji waved off the concern.

"It's fine, man. If it comes down to it, I can brawl bit." he said, giving the teen a small grin. They stepped into the T.V shortly afterwards, and had met up with the bear from before, exactly in the same place they had arrived at last time.

A shout of surprise drew Souji's attention, and he saw what he thought was the bear's body shuffling around, headless. "What the hell?!" he yelped, eyes wide as he looked at Yu. Yu turned to face his brother, a panicked look on his face as he shrugged, mouth struggling to find something to say, but failing. The body found its head, and shoved it back on.

"What are you?!" Yosuke shouted, but the bear took on a sorrowful expression.

"I…I don't know what I am. I just live here. I want to live here peacefully." it said. The bear looked at the boys. "I want you to find the real guy who's throwing people in here. You have to promise. Otherwise, I'm not gonna let you guys out of here." Yosuke swore, and the bear began to whimper, breaking down and crying as he expressed his fear.

"What should we do?" Yosuke asked, turning to the twins. Yu looked at his brother, deferring the question to him instead. Souji sighed, admitting defeat before the battle could begin. With Yu, there were just some things that you just shouldn't do.

"I promise, we'll find out who's behind this. I want to know the truth, as well." he said, a kind look in his eyes as he looked at the bear.

"We might as well introduce ourselves." Yu piped up. "I'm Yu Narukami. That's Souji Seta, and the brunette's name is Yosuke Hanamura." The trio nodded at the bear, confirming the truth of that statement. "You got a name?" Yosuke asked, looking at the bear.

"…Teddie." It said, all signs of sadness gone.

"Teddie, huh? Figures." Yosuke quipped. Teddie offered to take the group to the place where "the last person came in", and the group happily accepted, letting Teddie lead the way.

* * *

They were standing in a twisted-looking version of the Central Shopping District, in front of the Konishi Liquor Store. Two figures were exiting the store, appearing spherical in shape. The two spherical creatures advanced out of the liquor store, long tongues and blunt teeth showing as their mouths were held open. Yosuke shuffled back, tripping and falling out of fear. The twins took a step back, and Teddie cowered next to them. "Oh, crap!" Yosuke yelled, trying to shield himself as the figures advanced. A ringing started growing in the twins' heads, and a voice began to speak.

"I art Thou; Thou art I. The time has come. Open Thine eyes, and call forth what is within!" The voice resonated in the twins' heads, louder than ever before. As it ended, they looked down, a single card in each boys hand. It had a mask, the left half colored black, the right colored white. Flipping it over, they saw simply a black face, no image on it. The card began to glow, and they silverettes smiled manically, unaware that they were doing so.

"Per…" Yu whispered, almost as if in a trance.

"…So…" whispered Souji, and the cards grew brighter.

"Na!"

The twins spoke in unison, and their hands became awash in a blue flame as they unconsciously "crushed" the cards, spreading the flame to envelop them in its aura. They let out a guttural scream as power flew through them, filling their bodies. The aura began to dissipate, taking on corporeal forms.

Behind and above Yu stood a tall figure, wearing a black jacket with red accents, its face covered in a metal mask, and a sort of metal bandana wrapped around its head. The large sword it hefted was bandaged at the hilt, the blade itself long and keen. Its eyes glowed yellow, and it gazed down at the spherical figures as they cowered back in fear.

Behind Souji, another figure loomed, different from Yu's. Its head was armored in a silver helmet, with armored horns extending from it. Gold accents played across the helmet. A stylized golden zero crested the figures forehead, and the eye slot appeared black, no light coming from within. The mouthpiece appeared as two triangles; overall, the helmet appeared symbolic of something hopeful, but at the same time, a nightmare. The most striking feature, however, was not the figures head. In contrast to the beings visage, the robe it wore stood out. It extended down to the figures feet, clasped just below the shoulders by a clasp that looked like the back of the card Souji and Yu had just been holding. It was colored blue, but the color appeared to change its shading continually the longer one looked at it, never deciding on one solid color. Gold accents ran along it, the edges being solid gold lines, while vine shaped accents ran along the open space on the robes front. The Robe separated towards the waistline, as if the figure was covering its arms from sight. What could be seen underneath appeared humanoid; a black cloth covering the beings midriff, a silver belt with the same image as the clasp adorning it, and black pants billowing slightly, having just enough excess cloth to allow it to do so. Pointed metal greaves appeared from under the pants, and the clawed tips of a metal gauntlet could be seen as the robe flowed back and forth. To staves adorned the figures back; one black, the other white, and the ends appeared to be dreamcatchers; the black one having stylized lightning as its interior, the white having petals.

Both figures towered over the assembly gathered, and the spherical figures began to inch forward, unsure of what they were facing. Suddenly, the twins moved. Yu ran forward, swinging his golf club at the nearest of the two creatures, the figure he had summoned following up with its sword, cleaving its target in twain. Souji flicked his wrist, and the air became frigid as his figures robe began to float up a bit. The second sphere-creature suddenly became encased in ice, and as Souji brought his fist down, his figure copied his motion, bringing its fist directly upon the creature, shattering the ice, and in so doing, the creature.

As the twins stood tall, breathing lightly from the exertion, they spoke a name, each unique. "Izanagi…" Yu murmured, looking at the powerful figure in front of him. It turned and nodded its head, acknowledging Yu.

"Morpheus…" Souji whispered, and his figure came to stand before him, arms crossed. The two figures disappeared, leaving the twins to gaze dumbfounded at the remains of their foes, which Teddie had called "Shadows", which were disappearing swiftly.

Teddie came running up, calling each twin "Sensei" as he did so, and Yosuke ran up as well, questioning the twins about what they'd just done, and excited gleam in his eye. After a few moments of elated questioning, the group settled down. "Let's continue the investigation!" Yosuke said, and the group headed into the liquor store.


	7. Fight and Accept!

Hey all! This chapter is focusing more on the fight with Shadow Yosuke and a quick summary of the events afterward. If the fight seems a little rushed, I apologize. I was listening to Yu's theme from P4A as I wrote it, so I might have been a little overexcited. Enjoy! **note** I went back and changed this to be chapter 7. decided it was a little stupid to split them like that. it works as a standalone.

* * *

They walked into the liquor store, hearing voices all around them, but no one else was there. Yosuke recognized the loudest of the voices as Saki's and ran over to the stores' counter, looking around. Recognizing one of the photos that was scattered on the counter, Yosuke picked it up, gazing at it intently. It was cut up all over, leaving only the images of two people unharmed; Saki and Yosuke.

"That's the photo we took with the other part times at Junes the other day! Why's it cut up like this?" Yosuke asked, staring at the photo.

"I…never had the chance to say it….I always wanted to tell Hana-chan…that he was a real pain in the ass." Yosuke looked up at the sound of Saki's voice, hopeful at first, but his face contorted in pain as she went on. "I was only nice to him because he was the store managers' son, that's all. But he takes it completely the wrong way and gets all enthusiastic. What a dip!" Saki's words had a visible effect on Yosuke, who began to tear up as he listened. "Who cares about Junes anyway? Because of that store, our business is ruined, my parents hate me, the neighbors talk behind my back…I wish everything would just disappear!"

Yosuke looked down, crying now. "I-It's a lie…this can't be…Senpai's not like that!" As he finished, another voice spoke up, but it sounded different, like it was actually there in the room.

"It's so sad…I feel so sorry for myself…Boohoo!" it said, and the boys turned around, gasping at what they saw. Another Yosuke stood by one of the tarps hanging from the ceiling, acting as if he was crying, but a sardonic smile lay upon his face.

"Actually, I'm the one who thinks everyone's a pain in the ass!" The other Yosuke cackled.

"Two Yosuke's?" Souji murmured as they ran over to face the other Yosuke.

"Who are you?" the real Yosuke yelled, fear and anger in his eyes. "I wouldn't think that!"

The other Yosuke cackled again, seeming to relish Yosuke's denial. "Yeah, right!" it said, grinning at Yosuke as it continued. "How long are you going to keep deluding yourself? Screw the shopping district, and Junes too! You're sick of everything, especially living out in the sticks!" Yosuke stammered a denial, but the other continued. "You put on a good show of being carefree and happy-go-lucky, 'cause you're so terrified of being alone! The more the merrier, right? You've got to be surrounded by people to block out the pain of isolation. And what's this about checking out this world for Saki-senpai's sake? Hah! I know the real reason you came snooping…" The shadow grinned evilly at Yosuke, preparing its next words.

"S-Stop it!" Yosuke yelled, trying to head off the other Yosuke, but to no avail.

The other cackled again. "Why so panicked? I thought I was just spouting bullshit! Or maybe…I DO know everything you're thinking! Why's that? Because…I AM you! You just came because you thought it sounded like a good time! What else is there to do out in this shithole? A world inside the T.V—now that's exciting! You didn't have a single other reason for coming here, did you!?" The shadow continued its tirade.

"Th-That's not true…Stop it!" Yosuke mumbled half-heartedly.

"You're just trying to act like a big shot. Hey, if it all goes well, maybe you'd even be a hero!"

The other's face darkened as he smiled even deeper. "Yeah, Yosuke the hero! Maybe you could finally impress the girl that you actually DO like! Saki was just a replacement, after all!" Yosuke looked up, eyes wide in fear. "N-no, d-d-don't say it!" he squeaked out, but the shadow just laughed even harder. "That's right, I know everything! The only reason you tried to go after Saki-senpai was because you couldn't get Chie's attention! Every time you tried, you'd just screw up, and it didn't help when Yukiko was around; whenever you tried to talk to her, Chie would take it the wrong way and hate you even more! Then you had to go and break one of her favorite movies! You didn't even comfort her today, and she looked like she was about to cry!"

The other cackled once more, delighted in the pain Yosuke displayed. "That's not true!" Yosuke yelled, trying to stand up to the other Yosuke. "What are you?! Who are you?!"

The other only chuckled. "I already told ya. I'm you…your Shadow…there's nothing I don't know about you!" The twins looked at each other. They had just fought shadows outside. Were there more shadows? Ones that could take human form? The silverettes shuddered, looking at Shadow Yosuke with apprehension.

"Screw that! I don't know you!" Yosuke yelled even louder. "You can't be me, you son of a bitch!"

The shadow laughed maniacally, and it looked Yosuke dead-on. "That's right!" it shouted, "Say it again!"

Yosuke stepped back. "You're not me! You're nothing like me!" he stammered.

"That's right. I am ME now." The shadow scoffed. "I'm not you anymore, see?"

The shadow glowed dimly as black blobs began flying towards it, melding it. As the walls of the liquor store fell down around them, Teddie ran back, and the twins called their Persona's, anticipating the danger ahead. A flash of light revealed what Yosuke's had become. A large frog sat in front of them, standing a head taller than the twins. Growing out of its back was a large black figure, a red scarf wrapped around its neck, with long shadowy arms ending in yellow-gloved hands, star shaped eyes gleaming. The twins looked at each other, and moved forward to engage the shadow. Yosuke had fainted, and Teddie dragged him back to protect him as Souji and Yu began their assault.

The shadow spoke haughtily. "I am a Shadow…the true self….I'll crush everything that bores me, starting with you two!" The shadow leapt into the air, and slammed into the ground, unleashing a gust of wind that threw Yu backwards, causing him to fall on his back. Souji braced himself against a near wall, resisting the gale as much as possible. Morpheus pulled his robe around Souji, protecting the youth from the brunt of the attack, but Yu's persona seemed to be having a hard time, desperately trying to stand as Yu did. The shadow laughed, loafing around as it celebrated its own attack.

"Cocky bastard" Yu grunted, finally regaining his footing. Looking at Izanagi, an image of lightning flashed through his mind. He pointed his hand towards the Shadow, and yelled out. "Zio!" Izanagi flew up, pointing his sword at the Shadow, and an arc of electricity flew from the tip, slamming into their foe, knocking him down.

As it struggled to get up, Souji pointed his hand towards Yu, feeling a massive amount of energy drain from him as he did so. "Heat Riser!" he shouted, and Yu looked at his brother, a smile playing on his face.

"That feels…good" he said, and looked back at the struggling shadow. "Come on, Izanagi!" he shouted, and leapt forward. Yu brought the head of his golf club down upon the Shadow, causing it to recoil a bit as it hit hard. Izanagi came flying by as Yu jumped backwards, and rammed his sword into the Frogs mouth, ripping it open.

"Graaagh!" screamed the shadow, pain causing some confusion. It looked murderously at the silverettes, and leapt up once more.

"Yu, guard now!" Souji yelled, following his own advice. Yu nodded, and held his club across his body in front of him, bracing for impact. Izanagi did the same, covering the teen with the hilt of his sword as he held it in a similar style to Yu's stance. The shadow came crashing down again, unleashing yet another gale upon its foes, but neither teen flew back as Yu had earlier. Resisting the wind once more, Yu yelled out for another arc of electricity, and Izanagi complied, sending forth bolt after bolt as the shadow danced around, trying to dodge the attacks. Souji yelled out "Bufu" and touched the floor. Morpheus knelt down, and ice began to spread under the Shadow's feet, causing it to slip up.

Multiple bolts of lightning slammed into it as it tripped, paralyzing it for a brief moment. Yu and Souji looked at each other and nodded, and both teens dashed forward, their Personas swiftly following. Yu yelled as he jumped up, swinging the golf club as hard and as fast as he could, smacking the Shadow across its head, while Souji cast another ice spell, locking the Shadow in place. Izanagi and Morpheus flew up high, and then came barreling down at the belly of the frog; Izanagi's blade gleaming as he extended it in front of him; one of Morpheus' clawed gauntlets reached out, spread in a knife-hand to spear the shadow. Both Persona's found their mark, and held on tight as the Shadow thrashed, desperately trying to throw them off, but Souji's ice held firm.

Slowly, it began to stop moving, and the two Personas leapt off, returning to their respective masters. The form of the frog and shadow-figure disappeared, leaving behind the Shadow-Yosuke to fall on his face. The twins breathed heavily, sweat pouring from their faces. Yosuke groaned as he woke up, rubbing his head. Teddie looked down, and the twins ran over.

"Yosuke, are you okay?" the bear asked, concern in his voice.

"Yeah…what happened?" Yosuke asked, but he suddenly remembered and turned around. His shadow had stood up, and was gazing sadly at the teen. "You…You're not me…" Yosuke said, and the shadow twitched, but otherwise remained calm.

Teddie spoke up softly, attempting to comfort Yosuke as he informed him. "That thing came from you, Yosuke. You have to admit it, or it'll go berserk again." The brunette looked down, reluctant to admit the truth of his shadow.

"Hey, Yosuke." Yu said, snapping Yosuke out of his reverie. "We all have something we don't want to admit about ourselves. It doesn't make us bad people, it just makes us human. If we can't accept that about ourselves, we won't be able to grow and move forward. We'll…just get stuck in the past."

Yosuke nodded, a wry smile forming across his face. "Yeah, you're right." he said, and moved forward to confront his shadow. "I knew it wasn't lying" Yosuke started, more to himself than anyone else. "But, I was so ashamed I didn't want to admit it. You're me, and I'm you. When you get down to it…all of this is me." The shadow nodded, smiling warmly.

Its body disappeared, replaced by a tall figure in white, a red scarf wrapped around its neck, its black head vaguely reminiscent of a frogs. Its hands had spinning shuriken attached, and it nodded as Yosuke spoke its name. "Jiraiya" he said, and the Persona disappeared. Yosuke fell forward, and the twins and Teddie rushed forward, helping him back up.

"Let's go back home" Souji said, wiping his face off. "Yeah, I feel tired." Yosuke said, nodding. Yu wrapped on of Yosuke's arms around his shoulder to support his friend while Souji asked Teddie to lead them back.

* * *

"You guys came back!" Chie cried, rising from her position on the floor, tears streaming down her face.

"Ch-Chie!" Yosuke stammered, looking at the twins as he remembered what his shadow had said earlier. The twins gazed in the opposite direction, whistling lightly.

Chie threw the rope bundle she held at Yosuke hard, knocking him back. "Th-The nerve of you guys! You are such morons!" she hiccupped, a swirl of emotions raging inside her all at once.

"Ow!" Yosuke yelped, rubbing his stomach where the rope had hit. "Chie, I-We're sorry…" he said, looking at Chie. Her head was down, and tears were visible on the Junes floor as she continued to cry.

"S-Steak…" she muttered softly. Yosuke looked up.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"Y-you owe me steak. A good one!" Chie stammered, and Yosuke started nodding

"Of course, Chie. Sorry we worried you like that." Chie sniffed, wiping her eyes with her sleeve, then stepped forward, hugging each of the boys tightly, lingering slightly longer on Yosuke than the twins. Afterwards, she stormed off, shoulders still shaking.

Yu turned to Souji, who was shooing him. A quick look at Yosuke, who had sat down against the T.V stand for support, answered the question Yu had been about to voice, and he nodded. "I'm going to make sure Chie's alright, then head home." he said, nodding as Souji gave him a small smile. "I'll see you at home, bro" Yu said, and left to catch up with Chie. Souji sat down next to Yosuke, and the two shared a few silent moments together.

Souji turned his head to look at his friend. "Hey, Yosuke…" he started, getting the brunettes attention.

"What's up?" Yosuke asked, sighing from exhaustion.

"Back there, in the liquor store….your shadow said some stuff about Chie…" Souji trailed off, the unspoken question hanging in the air. Yosuke shuddered, but smiled as he thought about it.

"Yeah, I know. Like I said, everything that thing said was true, even if I didn't want to admit it." He shook his head lightly. "I guess if you're asking about that, you're interested in her too?" the teen asked, turning to Souji with a guarded look.

Souji smiled and shook his head. "Nope." He said cheerfully. "Not at all." Yosuke smiled, but caught himself and nodded. "I see…" he said, looking thoughtful. But the look faded with his next words. "Not like it matters though. Doesn't matter whether or not I admit it to myself if the feeling isn't mutual."

Souji raised an eyebrow at that. "What makes you think it isn't?" he asked, choosing his words carefully.

Yosuke shrugged. "Dunno" he stated simply. "Just seems unlikely, given how we talk to each other.

 _"You talk like a married couple, though I guess I don't have any examples of one to base that off of."_ Souji thought, his emotion turning dark as he finished the thought. "I wouldn't be so sure, man." Souji said, looking forward. "Even if you don't think she feels the same way, you can't be sure unless you put yourself out there." Yosuke let out a short bark of laughter, and looked up.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." he rubbed the back of his neck. "Hey…thanks man. For everything."

Souji grinned. "Anytime, partner."

Yosuke sighed. "I think…I'm going to sleep well tonight."

* * *

"Took you long enough" Yu smiled as his brother walked in. Souji nodded slowly, feeling the exhaustion set in from the day.

"How was Chie?" he asked, throwing off his uniform and shirt.

"About as well as you'd expect." was Yu's response, as he laid out both twin's uniforms for the next day. "Yosuke okay?" he asked as Souji threw on his sleepwear.

"Mhmm." Souji hummed his response, settling down in his futon.

"I saw Yukiko on the way back." remarked Yu as he got dressed for bed.

"Something happen?" Souji asked, looking at his twin.

"No, didn't seem like it." was his response. "She seems to be really busy at the inn though. Wonder what's up." Yu turned off the lights and settled into his own futon, sighing contently.

"Whatever it is, it can wait a while." Souji quipped, earning a quick laugh form his brother. "I'm gonna have to agree with Yosuke. I'm going to sleep well tonight." Yu chuckled softly, and wished his brother a goodnight as they drifted off, exhaustion taking them to their dreams.


	8. A New Foray in Exposé

Good evening! Here's chapter 8, for your enjoyment (or maybe not. Who knows. I certainly don't 0.0) Mostly fluff here, but the expose I've thrown in just might prove to be enticing. Another wordy one, but I hope it's worth reading. See if you can catch my Kingdom Hearts reference hidden in the story *wink wink nudge nudge*

* * *

"Welcome." Spoke a velvet-smooth voice. Souji opened his eyes slowly, adjusting to the light of The Velvet Room. Yu was already sitting on the bench to his left, eyes closed in thought. _"_

 _Or maybe that's just where he appeared this time"_ Souji thought, mind open to possibilities. Yu opened his eyes, looking at Souji first, then to their hosts. Igor, ever the patient one, smiled, slightly unnerving but mostly kind. Margaret nodded at the twins, acknowledging their presence.

"To what do we owe the pleasure, Igor?" asked Souji, deciding to lean against the bar. The master of the room chuckled softly, eyes dancing in the soft light.

"Ever the business minded one, Mr. Seta" he stated, earning a shrug from Souji.

"Pleasantries are nice, but that's all they are. Just pleasantries." he stated shortly, viewing one of the bottles in the bar. Igor chuckled again, and then coughed to collect himself. Margaret spoke up, allowing her master a reprieve.

"This is a room that only those who, in one way or another, have entered a contract may enter. In your daily life, you two subconsciously heard the call to awaken, and you chose to follow the destiny of your inner voices." She looked approvingly at the twins. "You both possess frighteningly powerful Personas, should you manage to unlock their true potential."

Igor looked at the two boys for a moment, then waved his hand. Two keys appeared in midair in front of the boys. "Take these. From this night forth, you are our guests in The Velvet Room." he said as the boys reached out, grabbing the keys. Igor then explained how the twins would need the assistance of the Velvet room dwellers, and the price of involvement. Both boys nodded, understanding their end of the deal.

"Very good." Igor said. "It seems that the maturity that has been forced upon the pair of you serves you well." The twins winced, looking downcast. Igor chuckled again. "Do not mistake my meaning; the lack of meaningful connections in your life is truly a shame, but without such events, you would not be who you are today, and could very well have never have ended up where you are now."

The boys nodded, the man's words easing their pain. Slightly. "You have both gained powerful Personas, but the Persona Ability you have received is special in and of itself. It is known as 'The Wild Card'. It is a unique power, one rarely given to any one person, and the two of you possess this gift. Truly, you are intriguing guests." Igor eyed the twins, a devilish smile playing on his face. "Think of it like the number zero….empty, yet holding infinite potential within itself." The twins nodded, slowly wrapping their minds around that concept.

"As for the powers of other Persona's, you will need to increase their power yourself. A Personas power is strengthened by the heart, and the heart in turn is strengthened through the bonds it makes." Souji looked at the man quizzically, unsure of what he had just heard, but Yu smiled, fingering a small key on a necklace he wore, thinking back to a game he enjoyed before. Igor focused on Souji, sensing his confusion. "As you form bonds with others, your own 'Social Links' will gradually develop. The power of these Social Links will determine your Personas abilities." Souji nodded, understanding lighting in his eyes.

Margaret began to explain the Social Links in more depth, and the boys listened intently. At long last, it seemed as if the dwellers of the Velvet Room had said their share. Igor looked at the boys, or rather, at Yu. "Till we meet again." he said, and Yu's eyes closed, his presence fading from The Velvet Room. Souji expected to be next, but was surprised to find he was still standing within The Velvet Room. "I'm sorry, my boy, but I require your presence for a moment longer." Souji nodded, taking a seat.

"Your persona is very unique." Igor started, summoning an image of Morpheus on the table in front of him. "This particular Persona is connected to the dream-world, as it is his domain to rule over. However, it seems he is also deeply connected to this room." Igor eyed Souji, his gaze penetrating now.

Margaret leaned forward, opening her book as she did so. "We do not truly understand this connection, nor can we claim to understand what it does." she said, flipping through her book at a rapid speed. "What we can tell you, though, is that it is undoubtedly the most unique Persona we have encountered. As my master stated before, this room exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. The fact that this…'God of Dreams' is connected to this room causes some concern for us. This power may very well prove itself to be beneficial, or it may be disastrous. The saying of 'may all your dreams come true' comes to mind."

Igor nodded. "That saying is often overlooked, as it not only means the speaker not only desires the good dreams to come true, but also the nightmares you have." he said, looking at Souji sternly. "I will not presume to instruct you as to what your decisions should be, but I shall offer this as guidance; to trust in this Persona could very well be the end of you." Souji's eyes widened a bit, struggling to comprehend this turn of events. The power he had felt from Morpheus had indeed been immense, and it _had_ felt very strange, but he'd assumed that was normal. To think that the power he had gained could turn on him was frightening.

"The choice on what to do is always yours, my boy." Igor closed his eyes in thought. "I doubt that fate would give you a power that would not help you fulfill your contract, but the possibility exists. I advise caution in your future." He opened his eyes again, a look of concern in them as he gazed at Souji; an occurrence which he felt must have been rare. "I apologize if what we said frightens you, but as I said before, it is our duty to provide you with assistance." Souji nodded his thanks to Igor, unable to find the words to speak. "I regret ending any meeting on such a note, so allow me to say this: We look forward to your future, Souji Seta. Until we meet again." With that, Souji drifted back to unconsciousness, leaving The Velvet Room behind.

* * *

Souji and Yu stared at the T.V, dumbstruck. What they saw was beyond their realm of comprehension. Yukiko Amagi, their classmate, was on the Midnight Channel, wearing an outrageous outfit that didn't seem to fit her personality at all, spouting nonsense, revolving mostly around "scoring a hot stud".

Souji turned to Yu, who had a hard time tearing his gaze away from the screen. "Is that…Yukiko-san?" he asked; mind racing to figure out what was going on.

"If it is, she's definitely acting _very_ different from how she seems to normally" stated Yu, turning back to the screen to see Yukiko run into a large Castle.

A sudden ringing made the two jump, and Souji pulled out his phone, seeing Yosuke was calling. Flipping it open and setting it to speaker, he sat down on their couch, Yu plopping next to him. Before even saying hello to their friend, Yosuke began babbling. "H-Hey, did you see that?! That was Yukiko-san for sure! It looked like her…I mean, she even said her name!" Souji turned down the volume a little, wincing at the volume of Yosuke through the phone.

"Yeah, we saw. But didn't the stuff she was saying seem…weird to you?"

Yu nodded, speaking up himself. "I know I've only talked to her once or twice, but I never got the impression she was someone who acted like that." Yosuke voiced his agreement, and began wondering what they should do next.

" _Someone_ needs to call Chie." Souji said, emphasizing the first two syllables. "And seeing as how neither of us have her number…" He trailed off, smiling slightly as Yosuke stammered on the other end.

"B-But I can't just- I mean-that would be…"

Souji shook his head, knowing that Yosuke couldn't see it, exasperated at the boy's apparent incompetence. "Dude, have you seriously not said anything to her yet? It's been like, two days! Have you seriously avoided speaking to her all this time?" Yosuke fell silent, the embarrassment palpable even through the phone. The day after facing his shadow, Yosuke had barely spoken in Chie's presence, leaving the talking mostly to the twins. He only piped up occasionally in agreement, but otherwise held his tongue. It seemed that facing his shadow had left a sore spot in his heart, for multiple reasons.

Although Souji and Yu didn't want to push their new friend too far, having received the Magician Arcana just earlier that day after cementing their friendship with him, Souji found it unreasonable for Yosuke to continue acting as he did. Yu shook his head, placing a hand on his twin brother's shoulder. "You know, Souji, as well as you read people, you can be a pretty insensitive person sometimes. I know you want to push people to face their fears, seek the truth and whatnot, but nothing happens overnight. Give Yosuke some time to figure out how he feels. This isn't easy on him."

Souji sighed, seeing the sense in his brother's words. Yu spoke to Yosuke now, returning his attention to the task at hand. "Yosuke, I know you're still embarrassed about your shadow, but someone needs to check on Chie, and you're the only one who can right now." Yosuke nodded on his end, giving a long sigh as he calmed down.

"You're right, of course. I'll give her a call; ask her to check on Yukiko. Maybe she's not in the T.V yet." Yosuke's voice started to return to its usual peppy self. "Tomorrows Sunday, so let's meet up at Junes first thing in the morning!"

Yu voiced his agreement, but Souji spoke up while he still had Yosuke on the line.

"I have someplace I need to go first thing, so I'll meet you guys there." The three finalized their plans, and then hung up. The twins settled down in their futons, ready to face whatever hardships were about to be thrown their way.

* * *

Souji sat in the waiting room of the police station alongside Chie, who looked positively furious. He couldn't blame her; what had Yosuke been thinking? He had gotten a call from his uncle as he had been leaving a certain shop stating that another officer had picked up Yu and Yosuke for "Possession of dangerous weapons and Resisting Arrest". He had headed immediately for the Inaba Police Department, running into Chie along the way.

Suddenly, Chie stood up. Souji looked up, seeing his brother and Yosuke walking sheepishly out of the detention hall. Chie stormed over to the two, beginning to yell furiously at the two, punching both in the arm to accentuate her anger. Souji simply gave the two a withering glare, causing them to become downcast. "You really should know better." Souji began. "Seriously, there's police crawling all over the place, everyone's on edge because of the recent incidents, and you thought bringing weapons to Junes was a smart idea? Not to mention the fact that you started swinging them around!"

He began to pick up some momentum now, grabbing the two and leading them out of the building where he could speak more freely. "Did you even stop to think about what that might have looked like? And then you started arguing with the police? Seriously, Yu, you live with me. How many days have I dragged you down and made you watch those crime shows with me? How many detective novels have you heard me read aloud at night? Honestly, you could probably quote Sherlock Holmes word-for-word if you put your mind to it! You know how stupid that was!" He turned to Yosuke next, leaving Yu wincing at the ground. "And you!" he began, but Chie cut him off.

"Leave this idiot to me." she said calmly, softly pushing Souji back.

She lifted Yosuke's face up, forcing him to stand straight. She then turned around, as if to walk away, before swiftly bringing her right leg up to her chest, then extended it sharply out, slamming it into Yosuke's stomach. The brunette doubled over in pain, gasping for breath. Souji nodded approvingly as Chie dusted her hands, satisfied in a job well done. Calming down a bit, Souji asked the question that had been on his mind for a while. "Why did you even have weapons in the first place?" He looked at Yosuke, who was beginning to breathe semi-normally already. He half thought about asking Chie to repeat that kick from earlier, but decided that might hamper his progress in this investigation.

"I-found them-in a closet." Yosuke gasped, steadying himself against the stations wall. "We're-gonna need weapons-if we wanna save-Yukiko-san" He looked as if he might collapse again, and Souji sighed, his nature getting the better of him. He pulled Yosuke up straight, placing the boy's hands above his head.

"Breathe deeply" he advised, and Yosuke followed the instructions, keeping his hands on his head as he steadied his breathing.

Chie spoke up, voice still carrying disapproval. "If its weapons we need, I know a store that might help." She turned to Souji, looking for his response.

He nodded. "I think I know which one you're talking about." he responded.

"Let's head over there. If you wouldn't mind leading the way, Chie."

The pale brunette beamed, pleased with herself. "All right! Let's go" She turned in the direction of the Central shopping district, Souji next to her. Yu and Yosuke followed a ways behind.

"You okay, man? That kick looked killer."

Yosuke nodded, finally able to breathe again. "Yeah, no kidding. I thought I was gonna die. Is Souji always that harsh?"

Yu shook his head. "Rarely. That only seems to surface whenever he's scared for someone he cares about a lot." Yu grinned at Yosuke. "Guess that means you can count yourself as 'being close' with him"

Yosuke shuddered, a wary grin forming. "You'll forgive me if I'm not too excited by that prospect."

Yu laughed, then looked forward. "Oh crap, we're falling behind. Come on!" he grabbed Yosuke lightly, pulling him into a jog as they tried to catch up to the others.

* * *

"Welcome to Daidara's!"

Chie smiled as she entered the shop, the twins and Yosuke following her inside. The shop was littered with all kinds of metalwork, ranging from small jewelry to large battleaxes and heavy plate armor. "How do you even know about a place like this?" Yosuke asked, eyeing Chie in a new light. "Wait, I get it. You watched one too many Kung-Fu movies…" he trailed of, grinning mischievously.

"That's not it at all! I just overheard some guys in our class talking about it!" Chie flushed; a mix of embarrassment and annoyance showing on her face. Souji smiled, shaking his head, and approached the shop's owner.

"Hello again, Daidara-sama" he said cheerfully. The old man at the counter grinned at Souji; they seemed to have met before, to Yu's eyes.

"Ah, if it isn't Souji-kun! Come to admire my art some more?" Daidara laughed boisterously, arms crossed almost perpetually in front of his chest. Souji nodded, smiling broadly.

"Not just browse; I think we're all here to purchase today."

Daidara's eyes gleamed, taking in his customers. "Well, whatever they're looking for, if it can't be found in Shiroku or the bookstore, it's here!" He turned to Souji, a determined look on his face. "Speaking of things that can't be found easily, your special order is finished. Thanks for dropping off the payment earlier." Daidara knelt down, bringing out a package from a shelf under his counter. Souji grinned broadly, nodding to the smith in thanks.

The others crowded around, looking intently at the simple package. "What is it?" asked Chie, eyes wide in anticipation. Souji smiled, and undid the wrapping around the case. The case itself shone black, made of supple leather with metal edging to protect the leather. A small metal handle was on one side, flanked by two simple clasps, and a long strap was attached to the case. It almost looked like a standard briefcase. Souji undid the clasps, opening the lid to reveal two Tonfa. From one end of each weapon protruded two razor sharp blades, about the length of a standard tantō, while the other end was thick and blunted, capped by steel. Each Tonfa had a retractable handle, but boasted two straps that attached to the users wrists and forearms to allow the users hands to remain free.

Yosuke whistled, impressed by the craftsmanship of the weapons. "How much did these cost?" Yu asked, looking at his brother.

Souji closed the case, wrapping the strap around his shoulder. "My wallet took a significant hit, but it was well worth it." He bowed to Daidara, who smiled. "Your art never ceases to amaze me, Daidara-sama."

The old man simply gave a short bark of laughter, eyes gleaming. "Glad you like them, m'boy! You ever need to replace em, or get them fixed, just bring them back here. I'll repair them, free of charge. That goes for anything you buy from me."

Souji turned to the rest of the group. "Pick out what you're comfortable with, and bring with you under your uniforms, or find a discreet way of carrying them. I'm going to go browse the armor. Make sure you have everything you need to protect yourself. I'll pay for it." Yu nodded, remembering the consultation work Souji had grown up doing, as well as the odd jobs he had found along the way. He thought he needed tips on becoming a detective, but he was close enough to one as it is.

Yu picked out a sharp katana, and some armor, bringing it to the counter. Yosuke grabbed a pair of Nata, picking out the same armor Yu had. Chie grabbed some lighter armor that allowed her to move freely, and a pair of solid boots with steel caps on the toes and heels. Souji brought his armor to the counter, and paid for the group's purchases, wincing slightly at the cost. _"Guess I should ask around and see if any part-time jobs have any openings. Maybe Dojima has some work I could do on the side."_ he thought to himself as he walked out. They had placed their armor on, wearing it under their uniform's shirts, and they carried their weapons in nondescript cases; Yu appeared to be carrying a poster case while Yosuke had his attached to his arms, bound by some bandages. Chie just walked around in her shoes, breaking them in a bit. "Let's head to Junes" Souji said, walking towards the department store, Yu and company following closely behind.


	9. The Heart

Greetings! Chapter 9 is finished, and I hope you enjoy it. I tried to take some more time with the battle here, so i hope it reads well!

* * *

Yu had to agree with Yosuke. After what he'd seen inside the T.V, he _really_ didn't want Chie to have come with them. It was bad enough that this place was beyond freaky, strange, and twisted, but they also now knew that it was very dangerous. And what if that thing that happened with Yosuke happened to Chie? Would another clone-shadow show up, or was that just a one-time deal. They couldn't be certain, but it wasn't an appealing thought. However, despite all the warnings the group had given her, she had insisted on coming in, and when they had arrived at the same castle they'd seen the night before (with some help from Teddie, who was acting as their guide in the T.V world), Chie had run off into the castle. She didn't have the special glasses Teddie had made for the boys to allow them to see through the fog, she had no Persona, and no idea what was ahead.

Yu sighed. The boys and Teddie were taking a short break, having just finished off a shadow Teddie had dubbed 'The Happiness Hand', and were trying to catch their breath a bit. Souji was very pleased that they had finished off the shadow, as it had somehow managed to be carrying 2000 yen. Strange how this world had the same currency they had, but he wasn't about to question his good fortune. Yosuke sank to the floor, having just received an electric shock during the battle, which had knocked him flat.

"Teddie, can you smell Chie?" he asked, looking hard at the bear.

Teddie began to sniff, searching for a scent. "Yeah, she's just ahead, I think." responded the bear, looking worried. Souji nodded, and walked over to help Yosuke up. Yu stood up as well, dusting himself off as he did so. He walked over to Souji and Yosuke, who were patching themselves up a bit.

"This is a lot more dangerous than the liquor store. What gives?" the silver-haired youth asked, looking around.

Souji adopted his habitual stance, left hand once again falling on his waist as he thought. "I'm not sure. We don't really have a good idea as to why this place exists, or how this world works." He shook his head, annoyed that he couldn't make sense of their predicament. "It's just a thought, but maybe the shadows respond to whatever created them." The twins looked up, looking at Yosuke.

Teddie nodded. "Yeah, they do, actually. Like I said before, these places are created by a person's inner thoughts. This Yukiko-san person created this castle, and the shadows are responding to the emotion she's feeling. The darker one's secret wishes are, the more powerful the shadows will be. But, it doesn't seem to extend beyond that specific area. This will be the only place you find these specific shadows, I think." The boys nodded, understanding a bit more about the world they were in.

"Alright then" Souji said, looking down the hall before them. "Let's get going. We have to find Chie before she gets hurt, or worse."

Yosuke looked down the same direction, face hardening. "Yeah, let's go."

* * *

"She's right behind this door!" Teddie looked up at the group. "Are you guys ready?" he asked, looking from the twins to Yosuke.

They nodded. "We gotta save her, no matter what." Yosuke said simply, steeling his nerves. Souji nodded, a small smile on his face as he inwardly praised Yosuke for throwing aside his reservations when it came to his crush, at least in this instance. Stepping forward, he and Yu pushed open the large double doors, walking into a large circular room.

"A ballroom?" he observed, gazing around.

Yosuke suddenly darted forward. "Chie!" he yelled, running towards the green-clad figure in the middle of the room. The others followed close behind. "Are you all right?" Yosuke asked, but Chie stood still, hearing Yukiko's voice all around her.

"She said that red looks good on me." They heard echo from everywhere and nowhere. "I hated my name…Yukiko…'Snow'…" Yukiko's voice turned sour. "Snow is cold and it melts quickly. It's transient…worthless…But it's perfect for me. Apart from inheriting the inn, I'm worthless. Still…Chie told me that red looks good on me."

Souji's gut began twisting again; this was starting to feel exactly like the liquor store. Would a shadow that looked like him or Yu pop out from nowhere? Or maybe Chie or Teddie? Regardless, he didn't like the feeling. "Chie was the only one who gave my life meaning. She's bright and strong and she can do anything…she has everything that I don't…compared to Chie, I'm…I'm…" Chie's eyes widened, struggling to comprehend what she was hearing. "Chie protects me…she looks after my worthless life…And I…I don't deserve any of it. Chie is so kind…" Yukiko's voice trailed off, and a harsh laughter sounded from ahead of them.

" _Crap. I knew this wasn't good."_

Souji looked towards the sound of the laughter, spinning his Tonfa around so that the blades would point forward again; he had been running and didn't want to fall on them, so he'd reversed the edges. "'Chie is so kind', huh? What a joke!" the voice said, sounding sardonic as it spoke. Chie's shadow approached the group, Chie sputtering a bit as the thoughts that had just been running through her head were spoken aloud in her voice. Yosuke swore, pulling his Nata out, Jiraiya appearing behind him, preparing for anything.

Shadow-Chie continued. "Are we talking about THAT Yukiko!? She says I'm protecting her!? She says she's worthless!" the Shadow chuckled, amused by what she'd said. "That's how it should be, right?" she muttered, gazing at Chie evilly, a grin on her face.

Chie looked shocked. "Wh-What are you saying?!" she asked, voice incredulous.

The shadow smirked, continuing with her revelation. "Yukiko's sooo good looking…sooo fair-skinned…sooo feminine. She's the one all the guys drool over." The shadow looked past Chie at the boys, grinning widely. "When Yukiko looked at me with such jealousy…Man, did I get a charge out of that. Yukiko knows the score. She can't do anything if I'm not around. I'm better than her. Much, much better…" The shadow trailed off, voice dripping with disdain.

Chie looked appalled. "No! I have never thought that!" she yelled, upset. The boys looked at one another.

"We need to protect Chie." Yu said, looking at Yosuke.

"Yeah, no question about it." said the brunette, nodding. They moved forward.

Chie heard their footfalls and turned around, eyes wide in horror. "N-No, don't come near me! Don't look at me!" she protested, looking down and covering her head. Yosuke's eyes looked sympathetic.

"Chie…" he said softly, "…calm down." But Chie was too far gone to listen.

"No…No! This isn't me!" she said harshly.

Yu's eyes widened. "Chie, don't say anything else like that!" he warned, but the Shadow began to chuckle again.

"That's right. I'm the one who can't do anything alone…" it said. "I can't win as a girl, let alone as a person. I'm pathetic." The shadow cackled, grin widening as she stared hard at Chie. "I can't even get the boy I like to take me seriously!"

Chie gasped, a look of horror crossing her face. "N-No…n-n-not here…" she said weakly, shoulders shaking.

The shadow cackled again, joyous in its own derisiveness. "Well, not that I can blame him. All I do is talk about steak, or Kung-Fu, or train. Half the time I come to school in a sweat because I didn't keep track of the time during my morning sessions. Of course he doesn't see me as a woman!" The shadow chortled as Chie began to whimper softly.

"Please…" she tried again, but to no avail.

Yosuke's face looked pained; what was the shadow talking about? Was there someone Chie liked? He felt his heart sink. The shadow continued on. "I'm such a brute. Hell, even the transfer students don't think I'm feminine! The first day we met them, and what did I do? I kicked _him_ for breaking a DVD, one I could have replaced easily. I just got _sooo_ angry, because he destroyed one of my things, even if it was on accident! Why would he do that? Why would sweet, cool, goofy, handsome _Yosuke_ do that? Doesn't he know how I feel?" The shadow laughed loudly as Chie fell to her knees, unable to speak or cry. Her heart fell. Yosuke's eyes widened, and he looked incredulously at the twins. Souji simply shook his head, holding a finger to his lips. Now wasn't the time for this.

"But, at least I have someone who _does_ depend on me." Shadow-Chie continued. "I may not be feminine, but…Yukiko depends on me. That's why she's my friend. I'll never loosen my grip on her. She's too important to me. "

Chie stood back up shakily, finding her voice again. "No…That's not how I think of her!" she said, finding something she could fight against again.

"So, you're just going to deny me again?" the shadow asked, beginning to buzz quietly. "But things are different now. When the time comes…I'll be the one left standing. You won't mind, right? I'm still you!"

Chie's face became fierce. "Shut up! Y-You're…"

Yosuke snapped out of his thoughts, hearing Chie. "Chie, no!" he shouted, darting forward.

"You're not me!" Chie screamed. Yosuke froze; the twins summoned their Personas, a look of determination on their faces; Teddie ran backwards, staying back to provide support once more. Chie's Shadow hummed, and her face twisted in an evil smile. She began to cackle maniacally, just as Shadow-Yosuke had done.

"Yosuke, get Chie back!" Souji shouted, moving forward alongside Yu. Yosuke picked Chie up, who had fainted as her Shadow began to power up, and moved her back to Teddie, leaving her in his care. He rushed back to stand alongside the silverettes, adopting a battle stance.

"Let's beat this thing!" he shouted, and the twins nodded. Their Personas rose up, flanking the newly formed Shadow.

It appeared as a dominatrix, dressed in skin tight yellow leather, its midriff exposed. Its face was covered by a long yellow mask, similar to one Souji had read about that had been prominent in America many years ago. It held a three pronged whip, and sat atop a tower of gray beings, dressed as human students from their school, a large black cape extending from its back. "Scream for me!" It shouted, cracking its whip.

"I am a Shadow…the True Self! What do you guys think you're doing? Trying to defend the 'real me'?" it cackled again. "Then you're gonna pay the price!"

Yosuke shouted back at it. "Shut up! Quit being such a pain!" Without looking back, he spoke softly. "Chie, just hang in there a little longer."

The Shadow scoffed. "Huh, think you can stop me that easy?"

Souji and Yu didn't wait for a response. Yu spun his katana forward, blade pointing towards the Shadow, holding it up by his head. Charging forward, he rammed it into the shadows exposed leg. "Izanagi, Cleave!" he yelled, wrenching the blade out.

The Shadow's wound closed quickly, as if unaffected by the attack. It didn't even blink as Izanagi came down, sword held above his head in both hands. Moving quickly, the Persona brought the sword down, cutting a gash in the Shadows base. As Izanagi flew back to Yu, Souji leaped forward with Yosuke, Each boy's twin blades a flurry on the Shadow. Souji thought he heard the Shadow chuckle, and wondered if their attacks were having no effect. Pulling Yosuke back, Souji saw a flash of almighty light appear in his head. It looked powerful.

"Megido!" he yelled again, feeling a bit of energy drain from him as he cast the spell. Morpheus raised both gauntlets high in the air, collecting a ball of energy. He flew high above Chie's Shadow, and then threw the ball down, moving back behind his master as it sped quickly towards its target. The Shadow made no attempt to evade the attack, and was enveloped in light as the energy exploded, blinding the group. The light faded quickly, and the Shadow was shaking its head, somewhat dazed.

Yosuke threw his hand in the air, willing Jiraiya to cast a spell. "Garu!" he yelled, and Jiraiya summoned a gust of wind to assault Chie's Shadow. This spell seemed to hurt it greatly, and it looked dazed, leaning lopsidedly.

"All right!" cheered Teddie "Yosuke found its weakness! Now, everyone! Attack all at once!" The boys grinned, and willed their Personas forward, following closely behind. However, the Shadow looked up, and recovered quickly. Cracking its whip, it summoned lightning to assault the group. Yu stopped short, taking the brunt of the attack, but shrugging it off with a smile.

Souji winced as he was hit, hurt, but not incapacitated. Yosuke screamed as he was hit, getting knocked flat from the electric shock. "Yosuke!" Souji yelled running over to help his friend back up. Yu sprinted to catch up, making it just in time, as Chie's Shadow summoned forth more lightning. Souji turned, cursing as he saw a flash of electricity arcing towards him and Yosuke, and closed his eyes, bracing for the attack. Yu stepped in front of the attack, taking the shock as he and Izanagi resisted the electric assault.

"Is Yosuke alright?" he said through his teeth, the attack obviously causing him some discomfort.

Souji nodded. "Thanks bro, I owe you one" Yu grinned as the attack stopped.

"Yeah, you can pay me back with some of your cooking."

Souji shook his head, grinning. "Whatever." he quipped, helping Yosuke to his feet.

The brunette looked pissed. "That's it, I've had enough of this!" he said, wiping his mouth of some light saliva. "Garu!" he screamed, sending forth gust after gust at the offending shadow, each assault hitting the shadow hard. Yu nodded, turning towards the shadow.

"Izanagi!" he said shortly, and the tall Persona came to a rest in front of him. Yu looked at his friend, nodding. "Thanks. Take a rest real quick" he said, and Izanagi nodded, disappearing with a quick flash. "Angel" Yu yelled, summoning another Persona. Yu then followed Yosuke's example, sending forth Garu after Garu into the Shadow's face, who was having trouble recovering from the repeated assault.

Souji grinned, and decided he would best serve providing support. Pointing his hands towards Yosuke and Yu, he felt a massive amount of energy drain from himself. "Heat Riser!" he yelled, watching as the boys' attacks began to hit harder, their movements a little faster, not flinching as much when hit by the wild thrashings of the Shadows whip.

The Shadow finally became too tired to continue its desperate battle, and leaned to one side again, shuddering heavily. Yosuke and Yu stopped their magical assault, panting. Yu summoned Izanagi once more, and turned to look at Souji, who was nodding, sweat pouring down his face. "Let's try this one more time!" Yu said, and flew forward, sword twirling rapidly. Yosuke grinned, reversing his Nata in his hands as he rushed forward. Souji sprinted towards Chie's Shadow, stabbing his Tonfa deep into the Shadow's sides, while Yu slashed the Shadow deeply; Yosuke slashing and stabbing a bit wildly.

The boys backed off, and their Personas took up flanking positions around the Shadow. Jiraiya threw his shuriken, enhancing their speed with a gust of wind, knocking the Shadow into the air. Morpheus came up under the Shadow, pulling out his twin staves and slamming them into the shadows back, spinning the Shadow as it became caught on the staves. After building some speed, Morpheus threw the foe towards Izanagi, who simply held out his sword, letting the shadow fly into the point, embedding itself onto Izanagi's blade. Izanagi then brought back his left fist, and slammed it into the Shadow's face, removing it from his blade. Black shadow was pouring out of The Shadows many wounds, and it crumbled to the floor, dissipating as Chie's shadow returned to its regular form. The battle was over, and the boys stood, panting. Their Personas disappeared, returning to the minds of their masters, and the group ran back over to Chie, who was recovering.

"Chie! Are you okay?!" Yosuke asked, worried.

Chie held her head, wincing from a headache she had just gained. "What happened?" she asked, looking around. She saw her shadow standing off to the side, looking placid. "What's the matter? Got nothing to say anymore?" Chie spoke harshly, looking at the Shadow as if expecting more bile to spill from her mouth.

Yosuke walked over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Stop it, Chie. It's all right."

Chie flushed at the touch, looking embarrassed. "B-But…" she stammered, shoulders shaking from the adrenaline pouring through her.

Souji knelt down, looking Chie in the eye as she held her face downcast. "Chie, everyone has some ugly side, some dark secret to hold back." he said. "But that side is only one bit of us. It's not our whole person, and it doesn't make us bad. It makes us Human, with wants and needs and desires and dreams. We understand what that feels like."

Yosuke nodded, and squeezed Chie's shoulder lightly. "Trust me when I say I know how hard it is to face yourself, to face the secrets in your heart. But if you don't do that, this thing will just keep coming back, eating away at you like poison."

Chie looked up, tears brimming in her eyes. She sniffed, and nodded. "You're right…" she murmured. "Thanks." Chie turned around to face her shadow.

"You're me." she began. "You're a side of me that I tried to ignore, that I didn't want to exist. But you do exist. You're a part of me." The Shadow nodded, fading out as a large figure took its place. It was clad in a skin-tight yellow leotard, rippling muscles on a feminine body. It held a double bladed spear, each end razor sharp. Its head was an armored mask, ending in a long spike from the forehead. An armored skirt fell around the figures legs, an aura of confidence brimming from it. "Tomoe…" Chie said, a smile on her face. The Persona nodded, and disappeared as Chie fell backwards onto her legs, exhausted from the stress and adrenaline.

Yosuke held down his hand, a dual offer within the gesture. Chie looked up, flushing slightly, but decided her pride wasn't as important right now.

She took Yosuke's hand, standing up, a small smile on her face that quickly disappeared. "I wasn't lying about being friends with Yukiko…" she started, but was cut off by a laugh from Yosuke.

"Well, that's obvious!" he said, grinning. "The way you took off without us, I was worried there might not be anything for us to do" His eyes twinkled, and the twins nodded; Teddie smiled.

Souji turned to the bear. "We need to get back, let Chie rest before we move on."

Chie looked up, disgruntled. "I never said I couldn't go on!" she said, but Yu shook his head, stopping her.

"Souji's right, Chie. You're in no shape to move on today, and neither are we, for that matter." His gaze softened more than normal as he looked at Chie, a comforting smile on his face. "I know you want to save Yukiko, but we don't know how much farther we have to go, or what the enemies will be like further ahead. We can't save Yukiko if we're dead on our feet, or dead for real."

Chie looked downcast, hearing the truth in the silver-haired teen's words. Souji nodded, agreeing with his brother. "For now, let's go back home and rest. We can come back tomorrow after school. That sound okay, Chie?" he asked, looking at the girl.

"Yeah, that's fine" she responded smiling at Souji.

"Alright then. Yosuke, you know where she lives. Make sure she gets home safe, and then get home yourself. Let's meet up at the Junes food court again tomorrow."

Yosuke snickered, earning an inquisitive look from Souji.

"What's so funny?" he asked, and turned again when he heard Yu begin to chortle as well.

"Well, you kinda sound like a leader, man" replied the brunette, mirth in his eyes.

Yu nodded his agreement. "Yeah, it fits you well." he said, gazing at his brother. Yu sighed, looking up. "How quickly they grow. I still can't believe you're my younger brother."

Souji turned to look at Yu, eyebrows raised and a small frown on his face. "I was only born a minute after you, and that's just because you decided you wanted to go first!" he said, causing his twin to laugh.

"A minute is still a minute, little brother" he said, a grin on his face. He knew this fact irked Souji, and admittedly irked him as well, but teasing Souji was never a boring pastime.

Souji sighed, shaking his head. "Let's head back. This place isn't good for people from your world." Teddie chirped, and the twins nodded in agreement.

"Let's go" they said, and the group headed back towards the entrance.


	10. Calm before the Storm

Souji grunted in pain; apparently, Morpheus didn't like fire. As he struggled to get up, he saw Chie attempting to put out the flames around them with ice spells. It was a good effort, but magic was obviously not her strong suit. Tomoe was built more for physical attacks. Off to one side, Yu and Yosuke were fending off a prince Shadow, which appeared to be giving them a hard time. Souji managed to get back up, but a shadow loomed over him. The large red bird that was Yukiko's Shadow grinned gleefully, bursting out of its cage as it prepared another flame to roast Souji alive with.

Souji's face contorted in annoyance and anger; he was fed up with this. An image entered into his mind, a rather large amount of ice to crash down upon the giant bird. He faced Yukiko's shadow and flicked his wrist, muttering the spells name, "Bufula". Morpheus flew forward, summoning the ice Souji had envisioned. He watched with a sense of satisfaction as the Shadow became buried under snow and ice, struggling to right itself.

"That's my brother!" Yu yelled, blades locked with that of the prince, Yosuke hanging back to use a healing spell.

Souji looked towards Chie, who had managed to get the fire under control. "Chie, would you mind?" he said, jerking his head towards the engagement. The pale brunette nodded, smiling.

"Yeah, leave it to me!" she said, bending down and stretching her legs.

Souji turned to his brother and friend. "Guys, get out of the way! Incoming!" he shouted. Yu turned towards the sound of Souji's voice, eyes widening as he saw Chie come barreling towards them. Grunting, he struck the Shadow prince in the face with the hilt of his sword, backing away quickly as the shadow sat stunned.

Chie reached the shadow, twisting to one side as she brought her leg up, quickly extending it out. It struck the Shadow, sending it flying through the castle roof and into the stratosphere. Yu whistled, admiring the raw power he had just witnessed. Yosuke stood staring at the hole in the ceiling, mouth agape. "Awesome…." he muttered. He looked at Chie. "Have you always been able to do that?" he asked. Chie shrugged, smiling gleefully at the compliments she had received for the powerful kick.

"If you're all well and done over there, I could use some help!"

They heard an angry voice behind them, and turned to see Souji directing Morpheus, who was grappling with Yukiko's shadow, free from the ice it'd been buried under. Yu and co. ran forward to assist Souji. Izanagi came flying behind the Shadow, grabbing the bird cage to steady it, while Morpheus shoved The Shadow inside, moving to one side of the cage, grabbing one of the shadow's wings, Jiraiya mimicking him on the other side. Tomoe floated in front, readying her spear.

"Don't you ever hurt Yukiko again!" Chie shouted, and Tomoe flew forward, thrusting her spear into the Shadow, causing it to dissipate.

The group celebrated, and helped Yukiko face herself, recovering from the battle. After a quick discussion, they headed back to the entrance, ready to leave. Teddie looked sad as he summoned the exit once more, but brightened up as Yukiko and Chie promised to let Teddie 'score' with them one day. The group exited the T.V world and entered Junes. They began to part ways; Chie taking Yukiko to get her home safely, Yosuke headed back home to get some well-deserved rest.

As he met Chie's eyes, the two looked away quickly; after the initial relief of rescuing Chie from her Shadow had worn off, Yosuke had had an even harder time than before talking to her; Chie likewise had struggled to speak to Yosuke, conflicted about her feelings. Souji sighed again, still having trouble dealing with the subtleties of one's feelings. Yu smiled, and led his brother away before he broke out into one of his already-famous rants, pointing him towards home, saying goodbye to their friends as they left.

* * *

Yu was sitting at the floor table with Nanako, watching T.V and talking to her as they waited for Dojima to get home. Souji sat at the table by the kitchen, reading that day's newspaper, looking for job openings nearby. They heard the door open, and Nanako stood up, smiling. "He's home!" she said, starting to walk towards the door to greet her father. However, Dojima walked in, bringing someone behind him.

Souji looked up, recognizing the man as the one they'd seen at the crime scene after his first day of school, Dojima's partner, Adachi. "Um…hello…" Nanako said shyly. Adachi smiled warmly as he greeted Nanako.

"We got off work at the same time, so I'm giving him a ride home." Dojima explained. "I thought we might as well swing by." The twins nodded, greeting Adachi one at a time.

Adachi introduced himself, jokingly stating that he'd been Dojima's slave since spring. Dojima gave his partner a tired look, stating that he could work Adachi harder, which Adachi laughed off until he noticed Dojima hadn't been kidding. "I wouldn't mind helping out a bit if Adachi doesn't cut it, Uncle Dojima!" Souji piped up, a smile on his face as he nodded towards Adachi, who grinned and rubbed the back of his neck. Dojima chuckled softly.

"I know you could, Souji, but I think your mom might take issue if I pull you in on my work. Stick with being a student for now, okay?" Souji shrugged, knowing that it had been a long shot.

Adachi turned to Yu, recognizing him from the police station. "Oh, I almost forgot!" he said. "You're friends with Yukiko Amagi, right. We found her, safe and sound. Tell all your friends at school!" Souji looked intently at the newspaper, ignoring Adachi and Dojima as best he could. Yu smiled, hoping the look on his face was one of relief.

"We owe you a lot." He said, taking Adachi by surprise; knowing Dojima, the poor man rarely received any kind of praise. Adachi started rambling about the case, earning a smack on the head from Dojima, who told him to shut up and wash his hands before dinner, noting that he should do the same.

* * *

 _Saturday, April 30_ _th_

Souji yawned, listening to Morooka give another 'lecture'. The silver-haired teen felt a little tired, but it also felt really good. He and Yu had been busy the past week. Souji had joined the Soccer club while Yu had joined basketball, finding that the captains of the two teams were old friends, and met up to help each other often. They'd also joined the schools drama clubs; Souji joining the symphonic band (he smiled as he remembered how he had out-performed the other trumpet players. Souji had been playing for years) while Yu joined the drama club. Between the club meetings, the twins had also been hanging out with Yosuke and Chie, enjoying the company of their friends. The two still had trouble speaking to each other occasionally, but were starting to at look at each other without averting their eyes or flushing with embarrassment.

Souji turned to look in front of Chie. Yukiko had finally recovered, and was back in class. She appeared to be intently listening to Morooka, fearful of missing any information that might appear on a test. They had asked her at lunch if she could remember anything about her disappearance, but the raven-haired innkeeper couldn't remember anything beyond a few small details. The group, now dubbed the Investigation Team, had sighed, but expressed gladness that Yukiko was home, safe and sound. Souji had been somewhat surprised when Yukiko had asked to join, having gained her Persona, "Konohana Sakuya", when she faced her shadow. The silverette gladly accepted her offer, having found that Yukiko was a better spell caster than anyone else in the group, himself possibly excluded.

On top of all of that, there was another person now staying in The Velvet Room alongside Igor and Margaret. Souji had recognized her as the girl he had met when the twins first arrived. Margaret introduced her as 'Marie', and requested that the twins take her out of the room so that she could experience the world. Marie had scoffed at that, and displayed a rather…aggressive attitude. The twins happily agreed, feeling a sense of attachment to the young girl.

He felt the small lump in his jacket pocket, remembering that he had somewhere to be after school. A fox at the Tatsuhime Shrine had caught his attention, and he and Yu had been tasked, willingly, to help grant the wishes of some townspeople to bring back visitors to the shrine, which was already slowly beginning to appear livelier. Today's wish was from a young boy who frequented the Samegawa flood plains, wishing that he had friends. Yu had found out that the boy wanted a sticker, and remembered that Tanaka's shopping channel sent prize stickers to anyone who bought three items from their show. The sticker was supposed to come in today, and Souji couldn't help but feel a little excited as he thought about fulfilling this wish. He knew how the boy felt, and wanted to resolve this situation any way he could.

The bell rang, signifying the end of school. Souji stretched, reaching above his head to relieve his muscles a bit. The rest of the team stood up, tired from sitting down all day. "What a day!" Yosuke moaned, stretching his arms above his head, popping his back a little. "So, anyone have any plans?" he asked, turning to the rest of the team.

Souji nodded, patting his jacket pocket. "Yeah, I guess you could say I have a wish to fulfill." he said, earning a questioning look from his friend.

"Oh! Did the fox at the shrine approach you?" Yukiko asked, earning herself an even stranger look from everyone gathered.

Souji nodded again, slower. "Yeah…How do you know about the fox?" he asked.

Yukiko blushed. "W-Well, I always see him around the shrine when I go sometimes. I think he lives there. He always acts like a caretaker, cleaning up the steps of leaves and catching the vermin around it." Yukiko flushed a little more a Yu smiled.

"That's quite a fox." he said. Yu turned to look at Yosuke, an idea forming. "Say, why don't you guys come with us? Granting a wish doesn't come all that often."

Yosuke looked at Yu as if he was crazy, but Chie spoke up excitedly next to him. "Oooh! I wanna go!" Yukiko nodded, agreeing with Chie. Yosuke sighed, defeated.

"Alright, I guess it sounds fun." He looked up, a grin forming on his face. "Who knows, a new experience is always fun, right?" Yu smiled, glad that his friends had decided to come with them. Souji nodded, secretly pleased as well. Packing up their things, the team headed out, stopping by the mailbox in the shopping district on their way to the flood plain to pick up the sticker.

* * *

 _Friday, May 15_ _th_ _, The Dojima residence, Midnight_

Souji and Yu peered closely at the screen, attempting to make out what the image on it was. "Doesn't it look sorta like that kid on the T.V the other night?" Yu wondered, eyes narrowing in an attempt to bring the image into focus.

"Yeah, it does." Souji said, agreeing with his brother. "I guess that means Kanji Tatsumi's the next target." Souji remarked, sighing as he pulled out his phone to call Yosuke, setting it to speaker.

"Did you see that?" Yosuke asked, leaping straight to the point. Souji nodded.

"We did." He said. "We think it might be Kanji Tatsumi." Yosuke agreed.

"All right, we finally have a lead. Let's all get together tomorrow, okay?" Souji and Yu confirmed the plan with Yosuke, and then hung up. Turning off the light, they laid down in their Futons, trying to sleep before the next day.


	11. Fangirling and Hearts

Souji's jaw dropped. He was sure that if he'd been in a cartoon, it would be reaching the floor. As it was, he had to hold his mouth shut with his hand. His eyes were extremely wide, but he shook himself to be rid of the shock. He returned his face to its default setting, but his mind was whirling. The team had decided to meet up after school and find out more about Kanji, try to protect him from being another victim in the case. The twins had entered the shop first, making as if to browse, while the others waited outside for a few moments, planning on coming in a bit after the silverettes had entered.

Shock had taken hold of Souji as he and Yu entered the textile shop; he could scarcely believe his eyes. Standing in front of the owner was a small figure, clad in a blue jacket and blue and black jeans, a blue newspaper boy's cap atop the figures hair, which was such a rich shade of black it too appeared dark blue as one looked at it. Calming down before the others came in and noticed, Souji made to browse some of the textiles, noting the intricate and simple designs littering the showcase area.

Yosuke, Chie, and Yukiko entered, Yukiko calling a greeting to the matron of the store. "Ah, Yuki-chan, it's so nice to see you." The figure turned around, eyeing the group calculatingly. The figure was a young boy, with grey-blue eyes and a small face. He stood with his right hand on his waist, appearing cool and relaxed to the group. Souji fought the flush he felt rising to his face, but calmed down as he looked at the figure. Something seemed…off to him. He couldn't place it, but the air around the boy seemed different. Sighing, he leaned back against the wall of the shop, eyes searching the ground as he thought hard.

"Well then, if you'll excuse me, Ma'am." The boy turned back to the matron, who nodded.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't help more." The matron replied, but the boy shook his head.

"It's all right. You've given me plenty to think about. Thank you." He turned around, hand reaching up to adjust his cap as he left. He nodded towards the group, eyeing each one in turn. His gaze rested on Souji, who in turn opened his eyes and looked up to stare back at the boy. Both pairs of eyes locked, grey-blue meeting silver as each was obviously sizing the other up, calculating factors they noticed about the other. The boy looked away, exiting the shop. Souji allowed his face to flush after he'd left, sighing deeply and shuddering.

As Yukiko, Chie and Yosuke talked with the matron, asking about Kanji, Yu walked over to his brother, noticing the strange attitude he had. "Yo, Souji. Everything alright?" he asked, concerned. Yosuke had found a scarf, and was questioning the matron about it, recognizing it as the same type of scarf from the room in the T.V world.

"Yes and no…I don't know" Souji answered his brother, heart pumping a bit faster than normal. Yu gave his brother a questioning look, but Souji shook his head. " _Later"_ the look said. Yu dropped the subject, still feeling worried that something had fazed Souji this way.

"Hey, we're done here" Yosuke said, walking up to the twins. "Let's head out." The group exited the shop, and noticed Kanji Tatsumi talking to the boy they had just run into. "Quick, hide!" Yosuke exclaimed, and the group hid behind a nearby mailbox, trying to eavesdrop. Souji couldn't help but stare at the boy, the feeling he had from before not leaving so easily. Everything about him seemed normal, though. The pose he took, however, seemed a bit strange, leaning on his right hand as it rested on his waist. It seemed almost effeminate, but then Souji remembered that he himself tended to adopt a similar pose occasionally.

The boy nodded, and turned around, leaving Kanji alone with his thoughts. Kanji turned and noticed the Investigation Team, and started after them. "Scatter!" Chie yelled, and the group took off.

* * *

They met up a ways down the street, collecting themselves. "Geez, he's even worse in person than on T.V." Chie gasped, adrenaline and exertion sapping her of her breath.

Yosuke nodded. "Yeah, I agree. Did you see that kid he was hanging out with though? He was just inside that shop, too! What was he doing there? I don't recognize him."

Souji spoke up, and Yu noticed he was blushing slightly as he did so.

"That's the Detective Prince…Naoto Shirogane." Souji informed them, looking bashful. "Who?" Chie asked, grinning as she noticed how Souji appeared a bit uncomfortable with the topic. "Naoto Shirogane. He's famous in the world of Criminal Investigation. He's incredible." Souji shifted slightly on his feet. "I guess you could say…he's an inspiration to me, like an idol of sorts."

Yosuke grinned. "Oh? Is that all? You seem to…admire him a lot, Souji-kun"

Souji looked up, eyebrows raised. "And just what are you implying by that, Yosuke- _kun_ " Souji retorted, stressing the honorific at the end.

Yosuke grinned devilishly. "I think you know exactly what I'm talking about." he said, a glint in his eyes.

Souji simply shook his head in response. "If you're implying what I think you're implying, you're dead wrong." Souji's eyes began to sparkle, taking on a similar look as Yosuke's. "Or maybe you'd like me to tell everyone about what happened inside the Konishi Liquor Store?"

It was Souji's turn to grin now, as he watched the color drain from his friends face. Yu snorted with barely contained laughter. "You wouldn't" Yosuke said, alarmed.

Souji beamed at his friend. "Then I suggest you drop the subject, Yosuke-kun." he said, continuing to tease Yosuke with the honorific.

"What? I wanna know what happened! Is this about Yosuke's shadow?" Chie asked, eyes shining.

Souji turned, a playful grin on his face. "Bingo!" he said. "You're pretty good at this, Chie. You'd make a good detective."Chie grinned back, catching on to what Souji was doing.

Yosuke began to beg. "Please, don't do this, I take it back, all of it, I swear!" he rambled, looking pleadingly at Souji.

"Well…I guess I can forgive you. Who can refuse such a sincere apology?" Souji said, smiling at the relief that washed over his partners face. "Let's head home for now. It's getting late". The team said their goodbyes to each other, and headed home.

* * *

"The Detective Prince, huh?" Yu asked, sitting at the table back home. Nanako was out with her friends still, and Dojima wouldn't be back till late anyways. Souji mumbled a retort from behind his newspaper, and Yu's smile widened. "In all seriousness though, what's he doing in Inaba?" Yu turned to look at Souji, legitimately curious. Souji looked thoughtful, setting the newspaper down and leaned forward on the table, covering his mouth with his hands as he thought.

"A few ideas come to mind, none of them good." he said, looking at Yu.

"Well, what might those be?" his brother asked, staring back. Souji closed his eyes, deep in thought. "Well, he could be here of his own volition. It definitely wouldn't be the first time." He opened his eyes, gaze serious. "If that's true, we might be okay. He wouldn't go report it to the police, as he'd want to keep his presence unknown for a while, thus he might not look too deeply into us." Souji closed his eyes again, thinking about the other possibility.

"The other idea is that the Prefectural Police sent him. The central office might be getting fed up with the lack of results on the murders." Yu looked at Souji inquisitively, trying to follow his train of thought.

"So, would that mean Uncle's getting replaced?" he asked, concerned. Souji shook his head.

"Possible, but unlikely. He's the best on that force. They'd probably pair him and Naoto up; redirect the Inaba PD's resources to him. No, if this possibility is true, Naoto will have full access to all the data in that department. Which means if he suspects us being involved, we may end up with a tail."

Yu raised his eyebrows, a look of shock on his face. "Well, which is it, do you think?" he asked simply. Souji thought for a few moments, and then answered.

"I think…he was indeed hired by the central office. However, as we haven't heard a thing about him from Dojima, nor have any of the police around town said anything about his presence, it's safe to assume he's here currently on his own. Probably doing a preliminary search to gather his own information before his presence is known. Once that happens, information wouldn't flow as freely, I think."

Yu nodded, looking impressed. "Wow." He stated simply. "That's a pretty complicated answer. I assume this to mean we have some leeway still, then?"

Souji nodded. "Yeah, I think so."

Yu turned back to the T.V. "Well then, we should hurry up and keep Kanji from getting kidnapped, yeah?" Souji grinned, enjoying the simplicity from his brother, who always saw to the heart of problems, rather than beating around a bush like Souji himself tended to do.

"I agree" he said.

A knock on the door caught his attention. "Delivery for Mr. Narukami!" they heard a voice outside say.

Yu leapt up, grinning from ear to ear as he went to accept the package. It was a long and relatively thin. "What's that?" Souji asked, curiosity piqued.

Yu flashed him a grin as he opened the package, revealing two fishing sturdy fishing rods. "They were on Tanaka's a while back." he said, handing one to Souji. "I figured that, while we were here, we could go fishing together sometime." Souji grinned, remembering how he and Yu would fish some days to pass the time.

A thought occurred to him. "Hey, I heard a rumor about a massive fish that lives in the Samegawa. We should try catching it sometime." Yu beamed at his brother, happy pleasure radiating from him.

"Sounds like a plan!" he said, and the twins laughed as they went upstairs to put away their new tools. Souji came back down a while later to prepare dinner, and Yu came in behind him to make their lunches for the next day.

* * *

The investigation team sat outside the gate to school, waiting for Kanji to arrive. "Has the target arrived at school?" Chie asked, peering around the pillar, close to the ground.

Yosuke inched around the corner, looking at the school from above Chie. "Yes Ma'am, visual ID confirmed."

The twins and Yukiko chuckled; these two were having fun with this. _"They really are made for each other."_ Souji thought, looking at the two with a small smile.

Yosuke continued with his information relay, Chie nodding as she gained new information. "Target arrived in-zone near the end of his mess break, with mother-issued rations in hand. Current Status; in the bathroom, fixing his hair."

Chie looked up. "Why?" she asked. Yosuke looked down at her, a slight shrug giving his extent of that knowledge.

Chie turned back to look, and flinched. "Oh! He's here!" The group huddled around in a circle, starting to act as if they were a group of friends just hanging out. Kanji walked past them, not even registering their presence. Naoto Shirogane walked up a few moments later.

"I didn't keep you waiting, I hope?" he asked, noticing the group of teens standing around the entrance, laughing. The two silver haired boys stood there, the one he had inspected seeming to stand in the center of the group.

Kanji shook his head. "N-no, I just got here too." He responded, voice faltering slightly. Naoto nodded and turned, walking off. Kanji followed suit a moment after, confusion on his face.

The team broke apart, observing the pair as they walked. "They're headed for the floodplain." Souji noted.

Yosuke nodded, a strange look on his face. "What in the world was that?" he asked, shaking his head. Chie looked at him, a slight flush rising in her cheeks as she did so; they still weren't over that.

"Anyways, we gotta hurry after them, or we'll lose them!" she said. Yosuke nodded, turning to Souji. "We'll need to split up" he said, and Souji nodded in agreement. But how to split the five of them?

Yu helped answer that question with his next statement. "Yukiko and I can go stakeout the textile shop, make sure it's safe for when Kanji gets back." Souji grinned; they had discussed that a bit the night before, but hadn't anticipated the need to split up. It was good thinking.

"Okay, that leaves me, Yosuke, and Chie." He said, a small, devilish grin once again surfacing as an idea struck him. He turned to Yu; Naoto and Kanji were still within sight, walking fairly slowly. "I think I can make it back to the house and reach the floodplains before they get there." He said, noting the direction the pair were traveling. "I'll grab my fishing rod, and go fish at the river. Should be fairly inconspicuous."

Yu nodded, smiling. "Yeah, the two of us probably shouldn't walk around together. We do tend to stand out." Yukiko nodded, agreeing that the silverette twins definitely looked striking enough to last in memory. Yosuke began stammering, seeing the only pairing left.

"W-w-wait, that leaves me and Chie! What are we supposed to do?"

Souji turned, face stoic except for raised eyebrows. "Why, you're gonna follow them, of course." he said, as if it were the most obvious of answers.

"B-But…" Yosuke began again, but Yu cut him off.

"Sounds like we have our tasks then" he said with a chipper tone, and offered his arm to Yukiko. "We should get going." He said, and Yukiko cheerfully took the teens arm as they walked towards Kanji's home.

Souji grinned at the two brunettes. "Good luck" he mouthed at Yosuke, taking off like a bullet towards the Dojima residence. Yosuke and Chie were left behind, looking at each other, faces flushed.

"Let's go…" Yosuke mumbled, and started walking towards the direction of Naoto and Kanji, Chie following behind, face down as she tried to hide her cheeks.

* * *

"This is weird" Chie whispered from under Yosuke. They were hiding behind a tree as they observed Kanji and Naoto, Chie kneeling down, Yosuke standing.

"Y-Yeah" the other teen stuttered, feeling his cheeks flush once again. "We definitely stand out…" he trailed off, suddenly very self-conscious.

"Not us!" Chie just about yelled, embarrassment making her voice louder than she wanted. The two teens ducked behind the tree as Kanji looked around. "I meant them! I get this weird feeling…" She stopped suddenly as she heard footsteps approaching.

Yosuke risked a quick peek, seeing Kanji headed in their direction, looking around. "Crap, he's coming this way!" he whispered hurriedly.

Chie stood up. "Oh no! What are we going to do!" she squeaked quietly, remembering the day before. Yosuke's mind raced, a plan forming.

"Chie, unzip your jacket a bit and pull it off of one shoulder!" Chie looked at Yosuke quizzically, but stared in horror as he took off his jacket and tousled his hair, messing it up.

"What on Earth?" she said, but Yosuke hushed her.

"Trust me, this is worlds better than getting stomped on by Kanji!" he said, and rubbed her hair to mess it up. Chie started to argue again.

"No way, Yosuke! I know what you're thinking, and…" Chie began to ramble, and Kanji was getting closer, beginning to focus on the tree they were hiding behind.

Yosuke began to panic. "Chie, just please, listen to me on this!" he begged, but Chie didn't hear him, continuing to ramble, voice slowly rising in volume, cheeks flushing. Yosuke's cheeks flushed. _"I can't believe I'm about to do this. I really hope she forgives me!"_ he thought.

The brunette grabbed Chie by the arms, stopping her speech. "Wha-?" she began, but didn't get to finish. Yosuke thrust his face towards her, eyes closed, lips meeting as he kissed her. Chie tensed up for a few moments, but relaxed and closed her own eyes as she raised her hands to hold Yosuke's waist. Kanji rounded the corner, but immediately turned back around as he saw what was going on. His face was red as he returned to Naoto.

"Something amiss?" the detective asked, looking in the direction he'd come from.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." Kanji replied, walking past Naoto. The detective shrugged, and caught up with Kanji, questioning him yet again. Yosuke pulled away, breathing a bit heavier than before, face completely red. Chie looked the same, feeling her heart pound.

"I'm sorry, Chie!" he began "I was panicking. Kanji was getting closer, and I didn't know what to do, an-urf!" Yosuke felt the air leave his lungs as Chie punched him in the gut. He started to bend over, but Chie raised him back up to meet her face.

"Yosuke Hanamura." She said, looking the hapless teen directly in his eyes. "If you ever do that again without warning like that, you will not wake up for days." Yosuke nodded slightly. "Good." Chie said, and then leaned forward, meeting his lips with her own once again.

Yosuke's eyes widened this time, but closed as he pulled Chie in closer. _"Thank god"_ he thought to himself, savoring the moment for as long as he could.

* * *

What met Souji, Yu, and Yukiko was an embarrassed-looking pair of brunettes. Souji raised his eyebrows, noting that he seemed to be using this expression a lot recently. "Have fun, you two?" the teen asked, silver eyes gazing at them kindly. Souji had seen them from afar, and had turned around to give them privacy as Yosuke had made his move.

 _"Let's not tell them that"_ he decided as the pair shook their heads, cheeks darkening.

"Well…" Yu said, looking at his brother, "No one showed up to Kanji's place, and it doesn't seem like we got anything from spying on him and Naoto."

Souji nodded, looking troubled. Yeah, that's true. For now, we-" he cut himself short. Kanji was walking towards them.

"Hey! You're those two lovebirds from earlier! Are you stalking me?!" Chie and Yosuke squeaked in unison and took off, heading far away from Kanji Tatsumi. The three who were left behind took one look at each other.

"Time to run!" Souji said, and took off. Yu pulled Yukiko up onto his back, and followed after his brother. Yukiko laughed; she felt no attraction to the two twins, but enjoyed their antics and their company. This was definitely a first for her.

"Hey, get back here!" they heard behind them, but neither boy stopped to look backwards, a mischievous grin on one's face, a look of satisfaction on the other.

* * *

I know I'm gonna get complaints about this one, so I'm going to address what I see being the main issue. As far as the story's concerned, Yosuke and Chie may have seemed a little rushed, but keep in mind they've known each other for at least seven months by now. This scene to me provided a good opportunity to cement the YosukexChie pairing, as it could have worked in the game itself. Don't worry, though. They're not going to suddenly go over-the-top with this. It's a budding flower, so to speak. They still need more time to figure out how things stand. As that's what I think the problem could be, I'm just going to leave it there. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and 12 will be out soon!


	12. The Bathouse

Here comes chapter 12! The team rescues Kanji, and Morpheus gets a little more mysterious. Thanks again for reading, and enjoy!

* * *

His hands were sweaty. His face was sweaty. He felt like puking, but that would be bad. Very bad. How was it he was the one who ended up having to do this? Oh wait, that's right; Yu had been here with him, but then left for "reasons", as he had claimed, walking away.

Souji swallowed hard. He was standing outside the Junes entrance. The team had been searching for information so that Teddie could find Kanji Tatsumi, who'd been kidnapped two nights prior. Their investigation the day before had led them to believe they should search for Naoto Shirogane, who'd been seen hanging around inside Junes. He hadn't been there yesterday, though, so they had no choice but to wait until today to find him and ask about Kanji. And now here stood Souji. Alone. Feeling betrayed by his own brother. About to actually talk with his 'idol'. Yeah, this was gonna be _just_ fine.

Souji shook his head, ridding himself of these thoughts. Kanji'd been kidnapped, and they needed information. Souji's personal problems weren't nearly as important as rescuing him from that bathhouse in the T.V. " _Just imagine the look on Yosuke's face when we get there"_ he told himself, and the thought helped to clear away his inhibitions for a time. Steeling his nerves, Souji entered Junes, looking around. Naoto was standing off in a corner next to the elevators, head bowed in thought. Souji walked over to her, pushing the knot in his stomach down.

"Excuse me." He said, approaching the detective, who turned around at his voice. There were those eyes again, searching him as if he were a file.

"Is there something you need?" Naoto asked, finishing his observations of the silver-haired youth.

"Er…yeah, actually, there is. My friends and I were hoping to find Kanji Tatsumi…" Souji started, trying to find a reasonable excuse without lying. "We were interested in him after seeing that special on T.V, but we couldn't actually talk to him the past few days, and now he seems to have disappeared."

Naoto nodded. "Yes, I'd noticed that myself." he said, eyes searching the silverette, looking for something.

Souji sighed inwardly. This was a little harder than he thought. "I was wondering if you'd noticed anything…strange about him." he stated.

The boy's eyebrows raised a little, surprised at such a forward question. "Strange…?" he muttered, closing his eyes in thought. "Judging by that look on your face, this must be an urgent matter. I'll tell you simply." Naoto explained that something had seemed amiss with Kanji, and that he'd deduced it to possibly being a complex of some sorts. Souji nodded; Kanji seemed to behave strangely whenever he had been around Naoto, and had overreacted whenever he'd heard the word "strange".

"I see…" Souji muttered, eyebrows furrowed as he thought about this information.

Naoto took his moment of distraction to study the youth a little further. The silverette had seemed honest enough when he'd asked about Kanji, but something about him seemed suspicious. He'd been hanging out with the Amagi girl both times Naoto had seen him, but that could simply be because they were in the same class; prior research had showed Amagi's school information. But here he was, asking about Kanji Tatsumi, who'd recently gone missing, and who had appeared on a television special before, as the Amagi girl had before. Naoto had simply gone on a hunch, but this youth standing here seemed to be doing much the same as Naoto had done; collecting information on the exact same person.

The few seconds that had passed during this train of thought ended as Souji looked up, nodding firmly. "My thanks, Shirogane-sama. That information should help." Souji didn't wait for the Detective Prince's response and walked towards an open elevator, mind whirling in thought as he punched the floor number for the food court. Naoto was left there, looking somewhat surprised as the youth walked away.

"Shirogane…sama? What on earth?" Naoto shook his head, and turned around to leave; there was work to be done.

* * *

"Seriously, how much farther do we have to go?" Yosuke moaned, sweat pouring from his face. The rest of the team looked the same; even Teddie appeared to be sweating. The bathhouse steam seemed to be sapping them of their energy faster than usual. Souji asked Morpheus to use a small ice spell to help relieve the team of the heat. The Persona seemed happy to comply with the request, though Souji couldn't really tell; it was hard to register how this Persona felt about anything. Remembering the cryptic warning from Igor, Souji shuddered. Maybe he should come in alone some time to try to understand the mysterious Persona some more.

"Not much farther, Yosuke!" chirped Teddie, smiling as a wave of cold washed over him. "Kanji smells really close!"

Yosuke shook his head. "How can you smell anything in this place?" the teen muttered, then flinched and yelped as the sound of laughter filled the air around them; sounding much like what they assumed to be Shadow Kanji and another, deeper voice enjoying themselves. Souji grimaced, enjoying the teen's reaction but feeling uncomfortable himself. This place was just freaky.

Yu leaned on his katana, not even registering that he'd heard the sound. The carefree teen had brought his headphones today, and had plugged them in after hearing the first round of laughter. Souji looked at him, bemused. Yu was lip singing along with one of his favorite songs, "True Story" by Rise Kujikawa. Souji shook his head, making a mental note to bring his own headphones the next time they entered the T.V world.

"This place suuucks!" moaned Chie, massaging one of her legs. Yosuke turned to respond, but then looked away hurriedly, blushing furiously as he met Chie's eyes. _"These two just can't decide, can they?"_ Souji thought, grinning slightly. Yu had been coaching him a bit on understanding people more, and although he still didn't get it, he was able to restrain himself when it came to his usual attitude about things like this.

Sighing, Souji adjusted his Tonfa straps, making sure they were firm. "Come on, everyone. We still have a ways to go with this." The team mumbled, standing up as they did so. Although they were tired, a look of determination crossed their faces. They'd worked hard to get to this point. To turn back for the day when Kanji was so close seemed a waste, especially when they weren't nearly as tired as they were uncomfortable. The sauna effect had sapped their energy a bit, but they weren't hurt badly, nor exhausted. The shadows in this place seemed relatively easy, but that was no surprise. The team had been going back to Yukiko's Castle to train before Kanji'd been kidnapped, and they had quickly been getting more and more used to the world around them; Yukiko and Chie had even discovered a special power that they could use when they combined their strength. Chie had dubbed it "Twin Dragons", in honor of the form the attack took. Souji nodded at the team behind him, Yosuke tapping Yu to get his attention and let them know they were moving on. Gathering their things, the team moved forward, cutting down the shadows in their path.

* * *

"Wow….he's big." Souji said, looking at the shadow in front of them. As per usual, Kanji had rejected his shadow, allowing it to become much more powerful. The part of the shadow that appeared human sat in the middle of a bed of roses, arms crossed in front of his chest, held close to his body. However, this bed of roses stood ten feet off the floor, as a large, masculine body encompassed it, holding two large metal weapons that looked like the symbol for males. Two other shadows were on either side of it, also very well-muscled as they took on the stance of bodybuilders. Shadow Kanji heard Souji's remark, and gazed at him with a winning smile.

"Oh my, such a forward complement. This body isn't all of me that's big…" he trailed off, smiling. Souji blanched as he realized what had just been said; Yosuke looked as if he were about to puke; Yu was still completely disconnected from reality by his music. The girls simply giggled a bit, in spite of their precarious situation.

"Why are we waiting around? Let's kick this thing back to kingdom come!" Yu said loudly, not realizing how loud he was due to his music. Souji nodded to his brother, who took it as a signal to attack, and ran forward alongside Izanagi, the two slashing their blades at Shadow Kanji. One of the other Shadows stepped in front of the attack, taking it in place of its master.

"Nice try, handsome, but you'll have to do better than that." Shadow Kanji smirked. A soft glow surrounded his body. "Let me show you what a manly attack really is!" he screamed. "Power Charge!" Shadow Kanji swung his fist at Yu, who narrowly avoided the attack. The fist continued its descent, obliterating the spot where Yu had just been standing. The other two shadows moved forward, grabbing Chie and Yukiko in a bear hug.

"Hey! Get your hands off of her!" Yosuke yelled, sending Jiraiya forward to try to assault the shadow. Jiraiya was knocked back by Shadow Kanji as he swiped his hand, as if swatting a fly. Yosuke grunted in pain, the feeling translating to his own body due to his connection with his Persona.

Souji tsk'd, annoyed with himself for just standing there. "Morpheus!" he yelled, willing his Persona to listen to him. Without receiving a verbal command, Morpheus understood his master's intention, and pointed his hand towards the shadow holding Chie. The shadow froze; literally. Morpheus then brought back his fist, flying towards the shadow. Throwing his fist forward, the Persona shattered the large shadow, freeing Chie from its grasp.

"Thanks, Souji!" the young girl yelled, not pausing as she ran to help Yukiko escape from her captor. Souji turned his attention to Kanji, who was giving his brother a difficult time as he fought to avoid the Shadow's powerful strikes.

Yosuke stood up, thanking his partner for rescuing Chie, then looked towards Shadow Kanji as well. An image formed in his head of a powerful blast of wind, and Yosuke grinned. "Jiraiya!" he yelled again, grinning as his Persona floated in front of him, ready to pay back the damage he'd had inflicted on him. "Garula!" Yosuke said, pointing his hand towards Shadow Kanji. The Persona thrust his hands in front of him, and a small tornado suddenly appeared under the Shadows feet, sending him stumbling as his legs were assaulted by the fierce winds, leaving scratches. "Grr…You know, you aren't as handsome as I thought!" growled Kanji's shadow, turning his back on Yu to face Yosuke. Yu grinned, seeing his opening. Souji cast Heat riser on his brother, anticipating Yu's intentions, and the youth sprung forward, holding his katana close to him.

"Izanagi, Rakunda!" he yelled as he rushed towards the enemy Shadow. The tall Persona pointed his blade towards its foe, and a purple light enveloped the shadow. "Huh?" it said, feeling the loss. Souji grinned, and began preparing a Megido to follow up Yu's attack. Chie and Yukiko came up behind him, having dealt with the other shadow that had been left.

"Go get 'em, Yu!" Chie cheered, with Yukiko and Yosuke following suit. Yu leaped, and Izanagi caught him in his hand. The Persona then threw the youth towards the Shadow, quickly moving in front of the Shadow to distract it. As Izanagi and the Shadow began grappling, The Shadow gasped. Yu had pointed his sword straight at the shadow, and embedded it deep into the Shadows back. As the shadow stumbled, Yu and Izanagi backed away, removing the katana as they did so.

Souji unleashed the prepared spell upon the Shadow. Shadow Kanji looked up, seeing the falling light bearing down on him. "Dammit!" it yelled, and became enveloped in light as the explosion covered it from head to toe, dealing a massive amount of damage to the Shadow. The team averted their eyes, and then looked back as the light faded.

"No way!" Yosuke yelled; the shadow was still standing, battered and leaning heavily on one of its weapons, but standing nonetheless.

"Hehehe…" it chuckled, raising a hand towards the team. "Now you've really gone and pissed me off." it said, energy crackling from the upraised hand. Lightning appeared above the group, threatening to strike.

"Oh crap!" Souji and Yosuke yelled in unison.

"Fanatical Spark!" screamed Shadow Kanji, and the lightning began striking the team, storming around them.

Yu had Izanagi protect Chie and Yukiko from the strike, taking some damage, but not enough to faze him. Yosuke and Souji tried their best to defend against the attack, with Morpheus intercepting the attacks from hitting Yosuke and his Persona as much as he could. After a short while the attack ended, and the team was panting.

"Crap, I don't have much left in me!" Yosuke said, looking beat as he fell back onto the floor, falling on his butt. The girls fell to the floor, exhausted. Yu and Souji both fell forward, Yu leaning heavily on his blade as he kneeled, Souji on hands and knees.

Suddenly, Souji stood back up, eyes glowing and body swaying slightly as he did so. Morpheus came to stand behind him, placing his gauntlet-hands on the boy's shoulders. Yu looked up, silver eyes staring death at the large shadow, which had been cackling and monologuing during its attack. Souji steadily raised one hand, a silver and purple mist swirling in his hands, and pointed it towards the shadow, who had noticed his enemies still lived.

"Oooh, you're a tough one, cutie! Too bad I have to put you down now!" The shadow raised his hands, lightning crackling as it prepared to repeat the same attack from before. It never got the chance.

The shadows face paled as the tendrils of mist began to creep forward, wrapping themselves around the Shadows arms and legs, pulling them close into the Shadows body. "Never…" Souji began quietly, anger in his eyes. "Never…hurt my friends…again." The tendrils squeezed tight. More mist poured forth from Souji's hand, taking the form of a ghastly creature. Whatever it was made the team gasp as they looked at it.

"N-No…how is that here?! I'm not sleeping!" Yosuke muttered. The girls were stammering, faces white as they stared at the misty figure.

A voice spoke in Souji's head. _"All creatures fear something. Tis my duty to remind people of that which they fear. The proud fall to their knees before me in this form, the cowardly run at the sight of me. I…am Nightmare!"_ Souji looked upward; Morpheus was holding his black staff forward, the lightning pattern of the dreamcatcher head glowing brightly. Shadow Kanji stammered, then gasped as the misty figure reached forward, arm disappearing into the Shadows body.

Souji felt overwhelmed and underwhelmed at the same time as the misty figure disappeared, leaving Kanji's shadow to fall forward, the powerful form it had just had disappearing as it returned to its human form. Yu stared at his brother, eyes wide. Souji then swayed, and fell forward, feeling all of his energy drain away. Strong hands caught him.

"Easy there." said a low voice. Souji looked up, and stared in shock as he saw Kanji Tatsumi holding him up, a hard, concerned look on his features. "You okay?" he asked, to which Souji nodded his head.

"Yeah, I'm just a little tired, is all." Kanji helped Souji to his feet as the Investigation team and Teddie ran over, looking worried.

"Dude, what was that?!" Yosuke asked, looking at Souji. Souji shook his head; he had a major headache now.

"I'm not sure. It called itself Nightmare. I think Morpheus was directing it." The team's faces blanched.

"Well…that explains what I saw, I guess.'' Yosuke murmured, looking apprehensive.

"Kanji, are you okay?" Yukiko asked. "Did…'Nightmare' scare you as well?" she asked, concerned for the boy she'd known for years.

Kanji shook his head, looking bashful. "Er…no…I guess I was already facing my nightmare with that other me…" he suddenly remembered that he had another self, and looked around for it. The team followed suit, worried that it had disappeared. Kanji found it standing by itself, whimpering.

"I don't care who…won't someone…anyone, please accept me?" it said as the team and Kanji approached it. "Accept me for who I am!" it yelled. Kanji's face contorted in anger, and he threw a powerful punch at the Shadow's face.

"Kanji!" squeaked Yukiko, worried about the reappearance of the shadow from before.

"Get up." Kanji said sternly "Anyone who looks like me, I know they ain't so weak that they can't take a punch." Surprise crossed the twin's faces. This was unexpected.

"I already know that you're me. You're me, and I'm you, dammit." The shadow nodded, and faded away as a large Persona took its place. "Take-Mikazuchi." Kanji stated simply, and the Persona crossed its arms, nodding slightly as it faded away into Kanji's mind. Kanji turned around, smiling slightly. "That…felt good." He said, looking bashful.

Souji nodded, grinning. "We're glad you're okay, Kanji." He said. The team helped Kanji stand, as his legs buckled underneath him, and took him back to Junes to get him home. Their work was done for the day.


	13. Baring One's Soul

Souji and Yu stumbled into the house, groaning. The week had been a long one. They'd found some part time jobs available, and had decided to take on all of them. It had seemed like a good idea, at the time. But in between dealing with argumentative kids, a nurse with an unhealthy need to throw herself at the two silverettes, a hyper-intelligent young boy, and a self-deprecative old lady, the twins were exhausted. Throwing their bags down next to the door, the twins sat gratefully on the couch, glad to be off their feet. Yosuke had needed help at Junes today, and despite having fun, the twins had quickly exhausted the small amount of energy they had left restocking the shelves, not to mention defending Yosuke from two bratty part-timers as his temper got the better of him, boiling over as he chewed out the girls for insulting Saki Konishi.

The twins heard the door open, and Nanako and Dojima came in, holding a bag from Junes. "Hey guys. I got some take-out tonight." Dojima said with a smile, setting the bag of food down as Nanako went to the bathroom to wash up, humming the Junes Jingle as she did so. "Wow, you two look almost as wiped as I feel." Dojima said, a wry smile forming on his face.

Yu nodded, keeping his eyes closed. He didn't think he could move much more today. Souji opened his eyes and grinned at his Uncle. "Yeah, today was a beat-down" he said.

Dojima chuckled. "I think I heard. Something about a bunch of Junes part timers having it out at the food court. Adachi told me." His eyes hardened, thinking about how Adachi had been loitering around Junes recently. "Hey, if you two see Adachi hanging around Junes whenever you're there, tell him off for me. He's been slacking off, I think."

Souji flashed a quick grin. "Okay, Uncle. You sure you don't want my help? I'd be more than happy to do what I can." His eyes glinted mischievously. "Mom wouldn't find out unless someone told her, anyhow."

Dojima laughed in spite of himself, and an amused and thoughtful look crossed his face. "Actually, I think there is something you might be able to help me with, Souji." The teens eyes widened, and his grin broke into a large smile. "You see, with Adachi loafing around and the Central Office running me ragged, a lot of the paperwork at the office has been piling up. I really need some help managing it all." He looked at the teen, who was now leaning forward on the edge of his seat, eyes shining. "I hate to ask you to do paperwork like that, but I actually talked to your mom about it. She said that you'd enjoy working on stuff around the department with me, and to not be afraid to use your brain on cases if I thought you could handle it…" Dojima trailed off, grinning as Souji's jaw dropped.

Yu opened his eyes, smiling as he heard the exchange between the two.

"I've discussed it with the head of my office, and he seemed open to the idea. He's willing to match a part-time salary for you if you do well. What do you say?" Souji leapt up, excitement taking ahold of him

"Of course! When can I start?" he asked. Dojima chuckled.

"After dinner, if you want. I brought back some of the files. We could go through them together." Yu noted the gleam in Dojima's eye; he was as excited about this as Souji was, though he didn't show it. Souji was nodding vigorously, and went to wash up, pulling Yu with him.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!" he urged, eager to start.

* * *

The period after dinner found Yu and Nanako playing in her room while Souji and Dojima sat at the tall table, files piled as the two sipped their coffee, scanning them for evidence related to some minor cases; a reported theft here, minor disturbances there, noise complaints about biker gangs. Souji grinned as he read one, noting a very accurate description of Kanji, who he'd fast become friends with over the past few days, discovering the boy had a soft heart and enjoyed cute things. Dojima sighed; placing another sheet on a pile they had designated "pointless".

Souji looked up as he heard the noise, and saw Dojima was leaning back in his chair, face pointed up and his eyes closed. "Something wrong, Uncle Dojima?" the boy asked.

The elder detective shook his head. "It's nothing." he said, sighing again. Souji reached over and looked at the paper Dojima had just discarded. It detailed information about a white SUV being spotted in the town recently, breaking some traffic laws as it had gone through, an American license plate on the back. The reckless driver had been caught, and was currently at the police station awaiting a rescue from his embassy.

"Something's wrong." Souji said. "Did something about this case upset you?"

Dojima looked down, noting the paper held in Souji's hands. He allowed himself a wry smile. "Nothing slips past you, huh?" he asked. Souji shook his head, explaining he was just concerned. Dojima nodded. "Yeah. Well, that driver there; I've been questioning him, asking if he'd ever been to Inaba before." Souji looked at his uncle, head cocked to one side as he questioned him with his gaze. Dojima chuckled; Souji had picked up on a trait Dojima used often.

"It's…about Nanako's mother, my wife." He said, a pained expression on his face. Souji placed his mug down and put the paper back on the pile.

"Uncle…?" he asked concernedly.

Dojima shook his head. "I need to talk about this at some point." he said. "She…was killed in a car accident years ago…a hit-and-run." A tear fell from Dojima's face as he relayed the story to his nephew, Souji nodding every once in a while as he felt his heart ache as the man he'd come to respect above all others over the past few weeks poured out his soul.

When he'd finished, a look of sorrowful contentment crossed his face, and he let out a shaky breath. "I…haven't told Nanako about this. It would hurt her too much. I guess I haven't really been a father to her, huh?" he said quietly.

Souji shook his head. "You've been doing as good a job as you can right now." He smiled wryly. "Admittedly, you could do more, but it sounds like this has been holding you back, huh?"

Dojima let out a short bark of laughter. "Yeah, I guess you're right." he said, looking up. He shook his head, smiling. "Honestly, in the short time you two have been here, you've improved our lives greatly. It feels…homey again." He gazed at Souji warmly. "I'm already tired of hearing 'Big bro' this and 'big bro' that. Hell, you yourself are more like a younger brother to me than my nephew."

Souji's eyes glinted as he spoke. "Should I start calling _you_ big bro then?" he asked mischievously.

Dojima laughed. "God no! Geez, that's a scary thought!" The two laughed, and passed the time together, finishing up the files that were left.

* * *

 _Miles away_

"Right! You got it! Okay, I'll be counting on you!" a man said, hanging up his phone. He looked towards the team of make-up artists surrounding a girl with red-brown hair, her face hidden from view. The man turned to an attendant, holding a tablet with a schedule pulled up. "Put in an interview with a magazine tomorrow at 11:30 P.M, at our office." He said, his voice taking the tone of business. "It's been crazy since she got the lead role for that movie…What's in two days? Oh, a costume check for the movie at 2:00, a recording for a radio talk show at 5:00, filming for a commercial at 8:00, and we're done at 4:00 A.M." The make-up artists had been adjusting the girls outfit and hair, aligning it to look perfect. Everyone left the room, and the girl sat alone, staring at herself in the mirror.

She got up and left the room, heading to the entrance to a stage. The crowd outside could be heard chanting her stage name as she waited for the attendant to give her the go-ahead. The man from before came up behind her; he was her manager.

"I quit." the girl said.

Her manager looked taken aback. "Huh?" he said.

"I'm going to resign." The girl stated dully.

"Huh? Wha-wait, Rise!"

Rise didn't wait to hear an answer, and ran out onto the stage, putting on a smile for the crowd. "Here I go!" she said into the microphone, earning a raucous cheer and applause from the crowd.

* * *

Yu's chopsticks fell from his hand as he stared at the T.V, unsure if he had heard correctly. "What?" he asked, his voice pitched higher than normal.

Souji looked at his twin as if he were a strange creature to be observed. "What do you mean, 'what'?" he asked; he hadn't really been paying attention to the T.V, and was lost as to why his brother sat dumbfounded. Nanako giggled.

Dojima sighed. "You know, one of the perks about this town was that it was relatively quiet…" he murmured, shaking his head.

Yu jumped up, fist pumping in the air. "WOOHOOOOO!" he shouted, startling everyone else.

"Will you sit down and explain what's gotten you so excited?" Souji demanded, eyes widened a bit in shock. Even for Yu, this was strange. Nanako burst into a fit of laughter; she knew why Big Bro Yu was so excited. Dojima simply shook his head, deciding to explain to Souji what he'd missed, as Yu had run upstairs to call Yosuke.

"It seems Rise Kujikawa is coming to Inaba. It appears that she's decided to take a break from being an idol." Souji's eyes returned to their normal state, though his eyebrows remained raised as he nodded his head.

"I see. No wonder Yu was acting like he'd just won the lottery."

Dojima chuckled. "I can understand why he's excited. That song he's been listening to has managed to get stuck in my head for days now." Dojima shuddered, hearing the lyrics surface once more.

Souji laughed lightly. "He can't help it. He's been a fan of Rise ever since she appeared. Most others couldn't say the same." The two shared a laugh as they heard the door knock. Yu ran down, throwing on his shoes as he did so.

"I'm gonna go hang out with Yosuke! Be back later!" he said, leaving the house before anyone could speak. Nanako finally managed to get her laughter under control.

"Big Bro's acting funny!" she said, smiling.

Dojima nodded. "You're right, he really is." he said, sharing a smile with his daughter as she began to laugh once more.

* * *

Yosuke and Yu were chattering non-stop before school, excitement at the news from last night bubbling over. Souji was talking with Chie, Kanji, and Yukiko nearby, grinning as he noticed Chie shooting dirty looks at her new boyfriend; Yosuke had finally asked her on a date a while back, which ended well despite the fact that Yu, Souji, Marie and Yukiko had run into them, dragging them along as Yukiko and Chie decided to take Marie shopping.

"But why's she coming here? She was starting to really hit it big." Yu wondered, drawing the groups attention.

Yosuke nodded sagely. "Just goes to prove that being an Idol's tough work." he answered, Yu nodding a vehement agreement.

"Rise's great." he sighed, drifting a bit into a daydream.

Souji, who hadn't really followed Rise unless Yu had forced him to watch her with him as payment for forcing him to watch Souji's crime shows, looked at Yosuke questioningly. "Is she really that popular?" he asked, earning a surprised look from the turned to look at him, jaw dropping a bit.

"Huh? You don't know her?" Yosuke asked. "Dude, what's wrong with you? She's all over the media!" Yosuke looked flabbergasted. "It hasn't been that long since her debut, but at this rate, she'll be a top class idol in no time!" Yosuke grinned sheepishly. "To be honest, I'm a fan too. She's such a cutie-pie."

This was the wrong thing to say. Chie grabbed him in chokehold from behind. "Cutie-pie?" she yelled, pulling Yosuke out of his chair. "What are you, 80?! I'm standing right here! You know, your _girlfriend_!?" Yosuke struggled to breathe, begging Chie to stop and apologizing repeatedly. Kanji,began laughing heartily, and Souji had to lean on his friend as he did the same, both boys doubling over at the sight. Yu had fallen out of his chair in laughter, and one of Yukiko's now-infamous laughing fits had taken her over.

The laughter eventually subsided, and Chie let Yosuke go after he promised to take her to Aiya's after school. "Aren't we getting sidetracked here?" Yukiko asked, still snorting somewhat.

"What do you mean?" Kanji asked, looking at the innkeeper.

"Well, didn't we say the connection to the victims might be the T.V? Rise was just on it."

Souji nodded, thinking about the connections in the case.

"But Rise's been on T.V for a long time. This isn't the first time, you know." Yosuke said.

Chie shook her head. "Yeah, but she's coming here."

Yukiko nodded. "And Ms. Yamano showed up on T.V with her a couple of times as well."

Yosuke nodded. "I see…" he said, looking thoughtful.

"I still don't think the cases necessarily have to do with Yamano, but I do agree about the T.V." Souji said, looking at his friends. "Rise may have shown up on T.V before, but it'll be the first time anything related to Inaba has come up, and she is coming here. That's what the report said last night." Not that he'd heard it firsthand.

"Then, by that logic, Rise fits the pattern." Yu and Yosuke said at the same time. Souji sighed; if Rise Kujikawa was involved, these two were incorrigible.

"Let's keep an eye out on the Midnight Channel. It's supposed to rain tomorrow." The team nodded, and headed to their respective seats (Kanji to his class) as the bell rang.


	14. The Idol

Hello everyone! So, chapter 14 here. I decided to go back and fix the chapters, deciding that there was no reason to split chapters in 6. I also fixed all the notes past them so that they correspond to this change. This Chapter, if you couldn't tell, is all about Rise. I'll be working on Chapter 15 after dinner, and will try to have it published tonight. Thank you for your support, and enjoy!

* * *

"Seriously, slow down! She's not going anywhere!"

"Yeah, but if we don't get there soon the crowd will be too large, and the Tofu will all be gone."

"Not too concerned about that. I can't eat tofu. However, I _do_ want to see Rise, so if the crowds too big, that might be impossible!"

"Will you two shut up, dammit?! Souji-senpai's right. Even if there is a big crowd, she's not going anywhere. The image was really fuzzy last night anyways. We've got time!"

The group of Yu, Souji, Yosuke, and Kanji were headed in the direction of the Marukyu Tofu Shop. Rise had been seen on the Midnight Channel the night before (or so they thought at least. The image had been very hard to make out.), and they were headed to attempt to inform her of the danger she could be in, though it seemed that Yu and Yosuke had forgotten about that.

They arrived in front of the shop, only to be greeted by a large crowd of onlookers, all attempting to get in. A couple of students walked out of the store, looking disappointed. "She's not here, everyone." they said, and a collective moan came from the crowd. Slowly, they filed away, texting and updating their friends on the news.

"Not here? That can't be right." Yu said, a determined yet confused look on his face.

As they approached the shop, they saw Adachi directing traffic from the street to move forward. The group spoke with him a bit before he turned and left. Dojima came out of the shop a moment later, and questioned the group on why they were there. Yu gave his uncle a hurt look. "C'mon, Uncle Dojima! I was really hoping to meet Rise!" The elder detective sighed and looked at Souji, seeking confirmation of this fact. Souji shook his head, throwing up his hands in defeat as he looked at his uncle, eyes expressing his opinion of the answer.

Dojima chuckled. "Alright, alright. Just remember, this is her home. Don't make her feel uncomfortable, okay?" With that, the detective walked off, yelling at Adachi once again.

Yu looked at the group, pleased that he'd gotten permission and dodged a bullet at the same time. "Let's go in!" he said, leading the group in with a grin.

* * *

Inside the shop, the group paused to look around, no one but an old lady sitting at a sink. "Huh, I guess she really isn't here." Yosuke said, looking around at the array of tofu. Kanji looked annoyed at the brunette.

"Man, why don't you just ask if she's in back? 'Scuse me!" he said, looking at lady by the sink. An old lady came from one side of the store.

"Yes, may I help you?" she asked kindly, recognizing the ex-punk from down the street.

Yosuke looked stunned. "Wh-What the…then who's that?"

The girl at the sink turned around, revealing a young face and red-brown hair. "…What?" she asked, looking tired as she looked at the group of boys. Yu's face flushed deep crimson, and Yosuke began stammering. Kanji looked annoyed, and Souji pinched the bridge of his nose as he snorted at the two boys' responses.

Kanji and Souji approached the counter, leaving Yu and Yosuke looking dumbfounded behind them. "Uh…are you Rise?" asked Kanji, looking at the girl.

Her attitude turned sour. "Yeah. So?" she said, a slight tone of annoyance noticeable as she did so. Yosuke and Yu ran over, excitedly questioning the truth behind her response. "What do you want?" Rise asked, looking tiredly at the two.

Yosuke froze, unsure of exactly why he'd come here, and Yu's face darkened once more. "I…uh…er…Kanji?" he asked turning to the tall boy in a moment of confusion.

Kanji sighed. "We'd like some ganmodoki, please." he said, shaking his head. Souji snorted again, earning a look from Rise as he did so.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

Souji shook his head, trying to contain his laughter. "Yeah, ask me again when we leave." he said as Yosuke and Yu snapped out of their stupor, only to fall right back in as Rise looked at them.

Rise nodded. "I'll go get your ganmodoki, then." She turned and went to the front of the store, gathering some ganmodoki and putting it into a bag.

"Wow, she's nothing like she is on T.V" Yosuke mused.

Yu nodded. "Yeah, she's tired. Somethings wrong." he said, earning a surprised look from his brother.

"Wow, Yu, I'm kinda shocked. You don't normally read into people like that."

Yu just nodded. "Uh-huh…" was all he said. The boy was very concerned for his idol, who was walking back with the tofu in hand.

"Here you go…" she said, handing Yu the bag. Yu gave the bag to Yosuke, who suddenly found he couldn't speak again.

"Have you noticed anything weird lately?" Yu asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Weird? Like stalkers?" Rise asked, edging back a bit. "Are you guys fans of mine?"

Souji shook his head, and Kanji responded to the question. "I wouldn't say we, but Yu-senpai and Yosuke-senpai here are pretty big fans of yours." he said, indicating each boy respectively.

Yu nodded his head. "Not to get off subject, but I've been a fan of yours since the beginning. I hope you're doing okay." he added with a smile, looking a little worried. "You seemed really tired recently, and it's very apparent now that I get to see you in person."

Rise nodded, allowing a slight smile to flash on her face. "Thank you. I've just needed a break for a while, that's all. What did you mean earlier when you said weird?" she asked, returning to the looked a bit relieved at her answer, but wasn't convinced.

"Maybe you know already, but Inaba's been pretty dangerous as of late." Souji said, answering Rise's question. "We've had two murders _and_ two disappearances in the last two months. We and a few others have been investigating some stuff to do with it."

Rise gave Souji a questioning look. "Oh yeah?" she said.

Yu spoke up. "Have you seen the T.V show that comes on at midnight?" he asked. "It's not like a regularly scheduled program."

Rise nodded. "Oh, that thing that was on last night. The Midnight Channel, yeah?"

Yu nodded. "So you watched it last night then?" he asked, earning a nod from Rise.

"I heard the rumors from some friends of mine. But that girl last night wasn't me. I've never been filmed wearing that swimsuit before. And the bustline…." She paused. "Mine aren't that big."

Yosuke managed to squeak out an agreement, and then blushed harder as he realized what he'd just said. "I'm sorry…" he said, Yu doing the same.

"Don't apologize so much." Rise giggled lightly, making Yu's heart flutter a bit. "You're funny." she said, making the two boys turn even redder. Souji thought he should take down a description; he was sure Yosuke's face had managed to find a completely new shade of red.

"I know this is sudden, but we're not lying." Kanji said.

Souji nodded. "We're just concerned. The Midnight Channel doesn't seem to rely on ordinary film. You may have never been filmed like that, but that doesn't mean it wasn't you."

Rise nodded. "Alright, thanks. I'll be careful."

Yu nodded back. "Please do. I'd hate for you to finally get a vacation, just to have it ruined by whatever's going on."Rise looked up, stunned. Yu continued "Please, be careful. But also, try to relax a bit. I imagine you get worked to the bone and then some. You deserve a break, at the very least."

Rise nodded, blushing a bit. "Thank you." she said, and walked over to the stands again, grabbing another bag. She filled it to the brim with multiple kinds of tofu, and then handed it to the silverette. "Thanks for the warning, and your concern. I'm not used to having people care about me like that." She smiled genuinely, brushing Yu's hand lightly as she withdrew to the back of the shop. Yu felt his heart skip a beat, and his face blushed again.

"Well, there goes Yu" Souji said.

Kanji sighed again, exasperated. "I got Yosuke-senpai. Let's go" he said, grabbing the brunette by the collar and pushing him out of the shop. Souji tugged on Yu's arm, leading the boy into the street as he walked dazedly.

* * *

"Dammit!" Yu said, bringing his fist down onto the table. Souji jumped, and listened for a sign that Dojima or Nanako had woken up. Luckily, there was none. "Yu, calm down. You're going to wake up Nanako and Dojima!" the boy cautioned.

Yu was staring at the T.V screen in front of them, silver eyes blazing. "I knew it was a long shot…but I thought…I hoped that it was over!"

Rise Kujikawa was on the Midnight Channel, teasing about stripping, but Yu wasn't paying attention, nor would he have cared if he was. Souji looked at his brother, a look of pain on his face. Ever since Rise had thanked him, flirtatiously teasing by brushing his hand, Yu had barely stopped talking long enough to breathe. When they'd watched outside the tofu shop yesterday with Adachi and the Investigation Team, they'd found someone climbing a telephone pole, trying to peek into Rise's room. They had apprehended the man, who claimed to have been only taking pictures, and had hoped against hope that the investigation was over. But Rise had gone missing after they'd walked back to give her the news. Yu had been worried sick, and now he was angry. No, angry was too weak a word. He was desperate, frantic, incensed. No words truly fit how Yu felt and looked, but those were what Souji thought fit best.

Yu pulled out his phone as the show ended, punching the speed dial for Yosuke in. Yosuke picked up moments later, but Yu headed him off before he could speak. "She's in there. We're getting her out tomorrow. That's it. Nothing else matters right now!" Yu said vehemently, breathing heavily as he tried to calm down.

"I-yeah, of course. But we can't just rush in there without a plan!" Yosuke responded, taken aback at the ferocity Yu was displaying.

Yu shook his head. "I know that. Let's meet at Junes tomorrow after school. Then get in there and rescue her." Souji looked pained. He had no idea how to help his brother beyond doing his best to rescue the idol, and felt useless sitting here.

"Yeah, I agree. But I'll bet Teddie won't be able to find her easily. That bears nose has been unreliable lately." Yosuke responded. The past few times the team had gone in to train, Teddie had smelled less and less. His battle support was falling apart because of it, and the bear was perpetually worried and lost in thought, believing himself to be useless, despite the teams many protests.

"Teddie won't have a problem." Yu snapped, anger welling just below his limit of patience. "I can give him whatever he needs. We just need to focus on getting Rise out of there!" Yosuke tried to answer, but Yu hung up, putting the phone on its charger. He walked over and began performing maintenance on his sword, checking to make sure it was razor sharp.

Souji could only stare at him. His normally light-hearted brother was acting as Souji had never before seen him. Rise obviously meant a lot to him. He shook his head. _"Love at first sight, huh?"_ he thought to himself, putting his things away as Yu finished, turning off the lights to they could go to sleep. They'd need all the rest they could get for tomorrow.

* * *

They were standing in the entrance of the strip club. Yosuke was getting punched by Chie as he looked around, gawking at the atmosphere. Kanji more or less seemed unperturbed, and was talking to Yukiko, who had been hanging out with the younger boy much more often recently. Souji was talking to Teddie, comforting the bear as he expressed his worries to his "Sensei", and discussing the plan with him; they weren't going to leave without Rise.

Yu stood at the door, holding his katana at his side, tightening and loosening his grip on the handle repeatedly. He turned around, looking at his friends. When they'd heard his conviction at the store, they'd agreed to come without hesitation. Souji had made a quick stop at Daidara's and Shiroku before heading to Junes, grabbing bundles of supplies, a large metal plate for Kanji, a heavy fan for Yukiko, and an armor upgrade for the whole group. His wallet had taken another hit, but Yu had paid him back, thanking his brother for making sure they'd succeed today. Yosuke had even offered Yu a job at Junes, stating there were a couple of openings that needed to be filled; the bratty girls had been fired, but had spread vicious rumors about the store, causing the openings to go unfilled. Yu had accepted, and thanked the brunette for the opportunity, feeling he'd need the distraction soon.

"Are we ready?" Yu asked, the rest of the group turning to look at him. Souji turned to look, and gave an affirmative nod. Yu would be the leader today, Souji would step back to allow his brother to command the Team the way he needed them to. The Investigation team walked up behind the silverette, and they turned to the door leading further in. "Let's go." Yu said, unsheathing his katana and stepping forward, leading the way.


	15. Shadow Assault

"Out of my way!" Yu slashed his sword across another shadow, watching as it evaporated into black dust. Behind him, Yukiko was healing one of Souji's wounds.

They had just finished a fairly tough battle, the voice belonging to Rise's Shadow enticing them to enter a room that was the lair of a large white snake (Teddie dubbed it the "Amorous Snake"). The battle hadn't lasted long, but the group had suffered some poisoning due to the snakes magic. Although it had been cured by Yukiko and Yosuke, the group needed a rest. Yu hated it, but if they pushed too hard, they wouldn't be able to get Rise out.

It wasn't a matter of capability; if Yu asked, he was sure the group would push past this and get Rise out, but they would probably suffer for it. They had entered a while ago, and had made quick work of many of the shadows in the club, even defeating a handful of the rare "hand" Shadows, pleasing Souji considerably as the experience of fighting the rare monsters was unique, allowing the group to learn how to combat various problems that could occur in battle. The massive amount of money they left behind was a nice bonus as well.

"You alright?" Souji came up to his brother, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Yu nodded. "Yeah. Sorry for pushing you all so hard."

Souji shook his head, clapping his brother on the back. "No one's complaining. We all know how much this means to you, and we want to save Rise too."

Yu looked down, embarrassed. "I just…I don't want her hurt. I really want to keep her safe. She's had a stressful enough life as it is…" he said, shoulders shaking. The rest of the group had gathered around, sensing their friend's discomfort.

Chie and Yukiko each gave the silverette a hug, Yosuke gave the teen a punch on the shoulder, reassuring him that he wasn't giving up. Kanji simply nodded, saying that any shadow that got in their way today would regret doing so. Teddie, incorrigible as always, told Yu that "he was sure sensei would be able to score with Rise-chan", getting the teen to crack a small smile.

Souji looked at his brother in the eye. "You see? Everyone here shares your pain, and wants to succeed. Loosen up a bit, man." The twins grinned; under any other circumstance, that last line would have been coming from Yu instead.

"Thank you. All of you." Yu said, and hefted his katana onto his shoulder. "Let's keep moving" he said, feeling a new surge of energy as his friends support buoyed him. The Team nodded, and broke into a run, wiping out the shadows that dared impede their temporary leader.

* * *

"She's just behind that door!" Teddie said, sniffing the air. At long last, they had reached her. Yu gripped his Katana, preparing himself for what was ahead.

"Two thousand yen says she rejects her shadow" Yosuke joked, earning a small laugh from the rest of the group. The likelihood that they'd escape without a fight was miniscule. The group had slowly come to the determination to not try to prevent the rejection, and resolved to simply do what they did best; kick shadow ass.

Yu stepped forward, and drew back the curtain that acted as the barrier between the hall and the room where Rise was. The group walked forward, and saw Shadow Rise standing next to a pole, the real Rise sitting on the ground a short ways away from her. "Aaahahahahaha!" she cackled "They're all watching! All eyes are on me now!" Rise was crying, and it took everything Yu had to not run forward and stop this.

"Stop it!" Rise said, closing her eyes. She hadn't noticed the group enter.

"Rise!" Yu yelled, and Rise's head snapped up, eyes wide in shock.

"Wha-What are you guys doing here?" she asked, wiping her face off.

"We're here to get you out. Just hang in there" Yu told her, bringing his katana up onto his shoulder. Rise's shadow laughed.

"Awww, what's the matter? Can't I have a little fun without someone telling me what to do?" she said, turning Rise's attention back to her. "You wanna show your stuff, don'tcha? Don't you wanna stop living a life someone else laid out for you?" she asked, eyes gleaming gold. She turned to the pole. "How's this?"

The shadow began a seductive dance, showing off for the Team. They couldn't tear their eyes away from the Shadow, horrified at the torturous sounds Rise was making. Yu's gaze hardened like steel blades; he was having trouble controlling himself, and had to bite his tongue to keep from attacking now. "Please, stop this!" Rise said, begging her Shadow.

Shadow Rise laughed in response. "Oooh, she wants me to stop. That's so funny! As if that's even close to what you're really thinking, you little skank!" Yu's eye twitched. Souji grabbed his shoulder, indicating to Kanji to get a good grip on his brother. "You're me! And obviously, I'm you!" The shadow looked at Rise with disgust.

"No…that's not true…" Rise moaned, trying to shut out her Shadows words. The Shadow cackled, and began dancing again.

"C'mon, look! You can't tear your eyes away. This is me! This is who I really am! Not Risette, the fake celebrity! Look at the girl right in front of you!" It continued its dance, moving more and more.

Yu tried to move forward, but found he was being held back. "Let go of me." he said quietly, staring daggers at his brother and Kanji.

Souji shook his head. "I know it hurts, but you've got to wait. We won't gain anything by rushing in." Yu gave him another death stare, but stopped pulling.

"I'm sick of being some airhead cliché who chokes down everything she's fed and takes it all with a smile!" Rises Shadow continued. "Risette? Who the hell is she? There's no such person in this world!"

Although he couldn't move forward, Yu couldn't hold his tongue back. "That's a bunch of bullshit!" he yelled, shocking the group and causing the Shadow and Rise to turn and face him. Kanji loosened his grip just enough, and Yu tore himself free, walking towards the stage, and stopped a few feet from it. "It doesn't matter if you're Risette, Rise Kujikawa, or someone else. You're still you!" he shouted, gripping his katana hard.

The Shadow laughed. "Are you for real?" it asked derisively, eyeing the silver-haired youth. "Geez, what a naïve idiot! You wouldn't understand it, being made into something you're not!" It cackled, and began dancing even more. "Risette is a fake, an idol made up by a bunch of people. Now, I'm no one but myself! C'mon, look at me!" she said.

Rise shook her head. "That's not-" she began, but stopped short. She couldn't finish the sentence. The Shadow looked at Rise, a malicious smile on its face.

"Well then, I guess it's time to prove it. I'm gonna show it all off!" She turned to the Investigation Team. "Let my naked truth be burned into your brains" she screamed.

Rise stood up, fear giving strength to her limbs. "Stop…Stop it!" she yelled, holding her head. "You're…You're not me!" Rise's Shadow cackled, and began to transform.

"Here it comes!" Souji yelled, and the team ran up behind Yu. Their Personas burst forth, ready to fight. Yu jumped up and grabbed Rise, pulling her off the stage before she could fall unconscious.

"Stay behind me!" he told her, standing between her and her Shadow.

The Shadow finished its transformation, body naked and multicolored. It kept Rise's hair, but where the face should have been was some type of satellite dish, multi-faceted surface gleaming as it reflected the images around it. It was hanging from the pole, occasionally coming down and thrusting itself towards the group. "I am a Shadow…The true self…And now, the moment you've all been waiting for. It's time for me to show you every last inch of myself!" the shadow giggled. "And for our guests in the front row…" it focused on Yu, "I'll give you extra-special, extra-intense service!"

Yosuke grimaced. "Looks like she had issues of her own after all." he said. "But we'll stop her from going berserk!" He readied his Nata, and began to cast Garula.

"Oh, you're going to rush the stage? What an ill-mannered guest!" The shadow said, and sent forth an arc of lightning at Yosuke.

"Woah!" he yelled, and dodged out of the way, interrupting his spell.

Yukiko stepped forward, a hard look in her eyes as she fell into battle. The image of searing fire burst forth in her mind, and she commanded her Persona to cast the spell. "Agilao! Fire, spring forth!" she yelled, adding her own touch to the spell. Konohana-Sakuya twirled her arms, pale-pink feathers rippling in the breeze. A jet of fire shot from her hands, engulfing Rise's Shadow in searing flames.

"Graaagh!" it yelled, and sent a pillar of ice at the offending target. Chie stepped in the way, and Tomoe shattered the ice, then moved forward and launched a flurry of strikes at the Shadow. Souji busied himself with casting Heat Riser on the group, Kanji throwing items they had found in the dungeon to restore his energy, keeping it from falling too far.

Yu checked to make sure Rise was okay. The girl hadn't moved from where he placed her, fear locking her legs. "Teddie!" he yelled, getting the worried bear's attention. "Take Rise and hide nearby. Stay safe!" The bear nodded, and ran over to grab Rise, leading the girl away from the battle. With his biggest worry satisfied, Yu ran forward, swinging his katana. Izanagi flew past him, feeling his masters will rather than waiting for a verbal command. The tall Persona began its assault on the shadow, lightning arcing from the blades tip as he swung it, slashing the Shadow and taking the hits of magic it sent his way.

The group continued its assault, helping each other and healing what they could using items and spells as Rises shadow assaulted them with a plethora of spells, ranging from ice and fire to buffeting them with wind and lightning. Panting, the group managed to knock the shadow off the pole, and as it lay on the ground, the team charged, attacking at once. They leaped back as the shadow swept its legs at them. "You're finicky guests." it said lightly. A green light shone from its head, emanating like a radar pulse. The team tried to attack again, but Shadow Rise attacked with multiple magic's all at once, hitting each Persona with the magic it was weak to.

The team struggled to rise, and was hit again with another burst of magic. "It's like it's anticipating our every move!" said Yosuke, managing to raise himself into a kneeling position. Yu looked around for Rise and Teddie. Rise stood behind one of the tables in the room, peering out in horror as she watched the team continue to be beaten back. Teddie had come back behind them, trying to provide support through the fight. The bear was holding its head, shaking in fear and worry. A strong burst of light flashed forth, an Almighty spell of some kind. The team all fell down, finding themselves unable to move, their Persona's struggling to stay with them. Teddie was upset.

"Stop it!" he yelled at the Shadow, to no avail. Souji was trying to help Yu stand, Chie and Yosuke doing the same. Kanji was kneeling next to Yukiko, who was sitting, gripping the boys hand for comfort and security. "A-Are we…going to die…? She asked hesitantly.

"No! You guys can't die!" Teddie yelled, edging forward. "What can I do…? Sensei…." Teddie was looking at Souji, hoping to receive an answer.

"Get out of here, Teddie! Get Rise and go!" Souji said, eyeing Shadow Rise as it began to charge up yet another attack.

"I-I can't leave you guys like that!" Teddie whimpered. Suddenly, the bear began to move forward, and stood between the Shadow and the Team. "Why am I stepping forward?! W-Woaaah!" The group looked at Teddie, struggling to get up to pull him back. "I feel like I'm going bear-serk!" said the bear, looking at the Shadow.

"Grr….I-I'll do it! Take a good look…at Teddie's last stand!" a gold aura began pulsating around Teddie, and the Shadow backed up in shock.

"This high energy reading…is it coming from that weird thing?"

Kanji looked at the bear. "Teddie! What the hell are you doing!?" Teddie roared, and launched himself at the shadow, creating a bright flash of light that blinded the Investigation Team.

* * *

"Great, out of the fryer and into the frying pan, huh?" muttered Kanji as he sent Take-Mikazuchi to attack. Rise had managed to face herself, and had received the Persona Himiko. However, her choice of words had caused Teddie to doubt his existence, giving birth to a large and powerful Shadow. The team had been restored by Himiko's power, but this fight was their hardest yet.

Yukiko was busy healing the team, unable to focus on attacking as they were struck with powerful attacks from Teddie's Shadow. Chie was doing her best, kicking the shadow with her steel capped boots as Tomoe sent blow after blow in an endless Rampage. Yosuke was busy switching between casting his wind spells and helping Yukiko with healing, but the attacks seemed to have no effect on the bear.

Yu and Souji were struggling, their Personas grappling with the shadow to prevent it from using its massive paws to attack the group, but it didn't stop its spell-casting. "Yu-kun, Souji-kun, pull your persona's back. It's getting ready to go down into that portal!" yelled Rise, who was providing tactical support with help from Himiko. The twins pulled their personas back, Kanji, Chie, and Yosuke doing likewise.

The bear came out, holding a large orange-black ball of energy in its hand. "Prepare to meet your doom. You shall never find Truth!" It began to swing its massive paw towards the team.

"Everyone, you can block this!" shouted Rise. The team immediately went into their guard stances, feeling nothing but slight resistance as the massive ball of energy passed through them harmlessly.

"What?" said the Shadow, confused at the lack of death from its Nihil Hand. The twins stepped forward, eyes glowing.

"Let's do this, bro!" said Yu, holding his katana in both hands between him and Souji, blade facing the giant shadow.

"Yeah, time to end this." said Souji, who placed one of his Tonfa blades on the katana.

The twins felt the air around them shift, and their blades adopted a dull silver aura, gradually becoming brighter. The air began to move faster and faster, coalescing into a sphere at the tip of Yu's katana. It glowed bright silver, spinning rapidly. The twins' hair rose, floating from the movement of the air around them. "You say we can't find the Truth? That it's pointless to search for something that doesn't exist?!" Yu yelled, raising his blade level with his chest.

"I've got news for you, Shadow! The truth as it stands now; this is the end of you!" roared Souji.

The twins thrust their connected blades forward, sending the sphere barreling towards their foe. "This is the Light of Truth!" they yelled in unison as it connected.

A brilliant flash lit up the room as the magic exploded, arcs of silver light soaring out and back down to slam into their target, and Teddie's shadow flew up, shrinking in size as the magic tore away at the shadows that had turned it into such a frightening monstrosity. It hit the floor, and laid still.

The team ran over to Teddie, who had been knocked back before the fight. Teddie approached his Shadow, readying to face himself. "I…" he began. "I don't know who I am… I've thought that a number of times…that maybe there is no answer." The shadow stared blankly at him as he continued. "But I'm here…I live here…"

Souji reached out, patting the bear lightly on his now-flimsy head. "Don't worry, Teddie. You'll find it." he said.

Teddie turned around, somehow managing to look tearful. "Will I really find it?" he asked.

Yosuke grinned. "Dude, don't worry about it. We'll help you figure it out."

Yu nodded, supporting Rise as she leaned on him, feeling weak. "As we continue investigating this world, I'm sure more answers will come. We'll help you every step of the way" the silverette said, smiling. Teddie began to cry a bit, tearfully saying his thanks. Teddie's shadow began to dissipate, and a large, round Persona stood in its place, wielding a large missile above its head, a blue cape flowing behind it.

"Kintoku-Douji…" mumbled Teddie as his Persona spun around, looking pleased before disappearing.

"I can sense a lot of power from it…" Rise said, smiling as she struggled to speak. "It's awesome, Teddie…" The former idol fell, but Yu caught her, picking her back up.

"We need to get you out of here." he said, the others nodding.

Yu reached down and picked up her legs, carrying her bridal-style as she was too weak to walk. She leaned her head against him, closing her eyes. "Take a rest, Rise. You've more than earned it." mumbled Yu as he felt the girl fall asleep, tired from the day's events. Teddie led the way back to the Studio Room once more, the team following behind him, celebrating in hushed tones so as not to wake up the girl in Yu's arms. Souji smiled. His brother looked peaceful again, smiling at the girl he carried; happy she was safe once more.


	16. Family Matters

Souji winced as Dojima ranted drunkenly. Adachi had helped Dojima get home, as he'd been too drunk to walk, let alone drive. Adachi was explaining to the twins about the Central Office sending in special investigative support, and Dojima was launching into tirades about it. As Adachi began rambling again, Dojima yelling at him to shut up like always, Souji thought back to his interactions with the only person who the detectives could be talking about; Naoto Shirogane.

Suddenly, the twins were being yelled at by Dojima, stating that they should share the blame as they'd always managed to show up at the "crime scenes" whenever something happened. Nanako came out, and told Adachi that she'd gotten his futon ready. The hapless detective then picked Dojima up, and carried his partner to bed, taking his leave afterwards.

After cleaning up the downstairs, Yu making sure Nanako got to bed, the boys headed upstairs. "Sounds like Naoto's preliminary investigation has finished." mused Souji as he sat on the couch, opening a book he'd bought on his way back from the T.V world that day. Rescuing Rise had put a considerable amount of stress on him, and he desired nothing more now than to curl up with a good book to read.

This particular one was separated into two halves by a thick bit of leather, as if someone had taken two books and bound them together. The front half was a standard story while the back half was a book of riddles. Souji had finished the back previously, and began reading the front, settling into the couch as he did so. Yu looked at his brother, sitting at the desk as he began to build one of the models Souji had bought him; the twins like to build models, and had decided to start doing so in order to fill up the shelf next to the calendar.

"So, if that's the case…what does that mean for us?" Yu asked, looking down at the model in his hands as he waited for Souji to respond.

"Well…" he began, flipping the page he was on, "It likely means we'll need to be more careful from now on. Naoto's now official. He won't be able to gain as much information, but I doubt he needs more at this point."

Yu nodded, contemplating the possibilities and struggles they faced. "Let's hope he doesn't get suspicious…" he said, turning the model around in his hands. The assembly was done; now he needed to give it color. Souji nodded to himself and continued to read. The boys passed a couple of hours like this before deciding to call it a night.

* * *

"Are you here to ingratiate yourself with Rise Kujikawa now?" Naoto had just come from the Marukyu tofu shop as the twins and Yukiko walked up. Yu elected to ignore him and moved past, walking in to check on Rise, as had become his habit over the past week. Naoto raised his eyebrows as the youth walked by, but made no move to stop him. Instead, he turned to look at Souji, grey-blue eyes once again studying him. _"Huh, his eyes are actually really pretty…"_ Souji mused, taking up his habitual stance as he waited for Naoto to finish his observation, left hand sliding to rest on his waist.

Souji was dressed different from normal; he'd recently started subconsciously mimicking Dojima, wearing a similar outfit as his uncle. In place of Dojima's red tie, Souji wore a dark blue tie, hanging somewhat loosely as Dojima's did. He wore collared white semi-formal shirt, long sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Dark jeans and a black belt adorned his lower half, with black loafers on his feet. His standard silver watch was still on his left wrist, and the silverette had taken to carrying a toothpick in his mouth, though he claimed he had no idea why he was doing so, just that it helped him think. Naoto quickly recognized the style as being similar to Dojima's and made the mental note in his head.

Yosuke and Chie came walking up behind them, finishing their argument. Teddie had come to the real world, and had a human body now. However, he'd been naked. "Like a newborn" as he'd said. Chie and Yukiko had taken him shopping, and the cost of the clothes had been put on Yosuke's tab. The brunette hadn't liked that, launching him and his girlfriend into a small spat.

"Geez…why did the clerk even let them charge it to someone else?" he thought aloud, earning him a kick in the shin from Chie. Hopping on his good foot, he looked up, noticing Naoto's presence. "W-Wait, you're that guy we saw with Kanji!" stammered the teen, not quite remembering the detective's name.

"To what do we owe the pleasure, Shirogane-sama?" Souji asked, already guessing as to what the purpose of Naoto's visit was; Dojima had termed the sixth sense Souji had as a "detective's intuition", and had been impressed when Souji had helped clear a small case that the department had previously let go cold.

Naoto looked at Souji, a skeptical look on his face. "I don't believe I've ever introduced myself, but I don't seem to need to in your case, _Seta-san._ " The silver haired youth just smiled as Naoto addressed him by his last name.

"Oh? It seems you know me as well, despite the fact that I never introduced myself to you, either."

The young detective allowed a small smile to cross his face at Souji's response. "Well, a stranger approached me at Junes some weeks ago, addressing me by my last name as he left. I thought it prudent to gather information on him. You stand out here." Naoto shook his head. "Ah, but where are my manners. I've neglected to introduce myself to your compatriots. My name is Naoto Shirogane. I'm investigating the multiple murders that have occurred here." Naoto nodded greetings to the other three, who nodded back. "As for what I'm here for, I was hoping to ask you a few questions on that subject. I hope you don't mind."

Souji nodded. "Of course. What were you wondering, then?" replied the silverette, a look of business on his face.

"The latest victim, Kinshiro Morooka… He was a teacher at the school you all attend, correct?" Souji nodded, remembering how their homeroom teacher had appeared dead, hanging from a water tower in similar fashion to the others. While the others had expressed frustration, believing the killer to have changed his methods due to their actions in the T.V world, Souji had withheld his judgement. Morooka hadn't appeared on the T.V at all, and had never showed up on the Midnight Channel. There was also the fact that his death had identifiable causes, which was drastically different from the deaths of Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi, who had had no identifiable cause of death.

"Indeed he was, and we'll miss him." Souji said, willing himself to maintain a straight face as his stomach revolted at his words. No one would ever miss "King Moron", but his death still caused concern.

"S-So what?" Chie stammered, looking worried.

"The public is focused on the fact that he is associated with the second victims' school…" Naoto continued. "But in truth, that's irrelevant. What intrigues me is the inconsistency."

 _"Ah, he's noticed too."_ thought Souji; He'd seen Naoto at the office when he was there with Dojima.

As Naoto explained his thoughts on the case, asking several more questions, Souji took a moment to take in his appearance. Naoto was dressed in a collared light blue shirt, worn in a similar style to the one Souji himself was wearing. A yellow tie was hanging loosely around his neck, much looser than Souji's, although it was still tied all the same. He still wore the dark blue newspaper cap Souji had seen him in previously, determining it to be a trademark of the Detective Prince's. _"Not unlike Sherlock Holmes…"_ Souji thought, and moved on. Naoto was wearing dark blue jeans, and shoes of a similar shade. Souji noticed a watch on the detective's left wrist, marking it as being the only part of Naoto's attire, other than his tie, that was not some shade of blue. Souji looked back up at the detective's face, but noticed a bit of white cloth poking out from under his shirt where the collar wasn't buttoned. _"Odd…it looks almost like a bandage…"_

Souji shook his head, dispelling the thought. It seemed Naoto was done with his interrogation. He stopped as he walked away, not looking at the teens. "For my part, I'd like to solve this case as quickly as possible. I'll be keeping an eye on you all. Oh, and Seta-san…" he turned his head to look at the young teen. "I'll see you and Dojima-san at the office later." With that, he walked away, leaving the Investigation team to stare after him.

"Oh…hi" they heard a distinctly feminine voice behind them. Yu and Rise walked out of the tofu shop together; Yu had apparently neglected to inform Rise that the team was there with him, his concern for Rise's well-being overshadowing other thoughts.

"Rise-chan!" Yukiko said, looking at the younger girl with a mixture of happiness and surprise. "Are you okay now?"

Rise nodded, Yu smiling gently behind her. "Are you all here to check up on me?" she asked, turning to eye Yu a bit; the silverette responded with a sheepish shrug. The group nodded, and Rise suggested they go to the shrine to talk more.

* * *

Yu stretched contentedly, laying on the couch in his room. Dojima and Souji were out late again, and Nanako was downstairs, washing up before bed. _"I'll need to head down to read to her tonight"_ he thought briefly, but his thoughts turned back to earlier that day. Rise had joined the investigation team, providing her support skills in place of Teddie, who had become a front-line fighter.

They had discussed various things, once again asking if Rise could remember anything about being kidnapped, but to no avail. As they had left, Rise had stopped Yu by pulling on his arm, the others walking away without noticing.

She had thanked Yu for saving her; the teen replying that the others were mostly responsible for that act. She had waved that aside, stating that Yu had been the one to stand up for her to her Shadow when she couldn't, and had carried her out of that place when she couldn't do so herself. Yu had looked to the ground sheepishly, mumbling a weak response that it had been because he'd been worried for her, when Rise had leaned up, planting a quick kiss on his cheek.

Yu could barely remember parting with her, and he couldn't remember how he'd gotten home at all. Sighing, he stood up, hearing Nanako calling from below. He left his room and headed downstairs to put the only girl who meant more to him right now than Rise to bed.

* * *

 _A few days later_

Yu ran down the street in the northern shopping district, fear making his heart beat fast and his breath come quick. He dimly heard Kanji and Rise behind him, calling out. Souji was running through Junes with Dojima and Yosuke, desperately searching. Chie, Yukiko, and even Teddie were running around the southern shopping district, concern in their faces.

Nanako had run away.

It had happened quickly. Dojima and Souji had returned home after a long night at the office; Souji had been balancing completing the paperwork he and Adachi had been given while at the same time trying to mediate between Dojima and Naoto, who'd begun fighting over the case again recently. The two were exhausted, but were greeted by Yu and Nanako, who dragged her father over to the small table. On it had been a survey for parental observation in the classroom, and Dojima had half-heartedly replied that he'd look at it later, mumbling about his over-stretched workload.

Souji, who'd been in the thick of it all, knew Dojima was actually underplaying the amount of time he had, not wanting to worry Nanako, but the twins' favorite cousin had taken her father's response the wrong way, and took it to the extreme. Not listening to her cousins or father, she'd claimed that Dojima didn't want her, and that he wasn't her "real dad', and had run out the door before anyone could stop her. They had followed only moments later, but Nanako had disappeared. Now, alongside the twins' friends, The Dojima Family was desperately trying to find little Nanako, hoping that she wasn't hurt.

Yu made his way to the Samegawa flood plains, remembering a conversation he'd had where she'd said she missed coming here. He heard footsteps behind him, and saw Souji and Dojima running up behind him. "Did you find her?" Dojima asked quickly. Yu shook his head, and Souji swore.

"I'll go check the house, see if she went back" Souji said, and took off the way he'd came. Dojima and Yu walked forward, looking around.

Suddenly, Dojima froze. "Nanako!" he said, looking in the direction of the floodplains pavilion. Yu looked too, feeling his heart start to beat a little easier. Dojima didn't move however, and turned to look at Yu.

"Will you go speak to her…You're the family member she trusts most right now…" Dojima trailed off, looking pained.

Yu's gaze hardened. "No." he said, and Dojima's head snapped up. "Before you get angry, you need to listen to me." Yu said, heading off what he knew was coming. "Nanako needs her father. She doesn't need me, she doesn't need Souji, or anyone else. She needs you!" Dojima looked taken aback. "I know what you've been going through; I'm not that inattentive, and Souji's filled me in on the gaps. But how long are you going to run away from her?!" Dojima opened his mouth, then closed it again, finding no words to say.

"You're her father. I know it's hard, with your time stretched thin right now, but you need to start acting like one, or else you'll lose your daughter! No more playacting as a dad; you need to _be_ her dad. Read her a story occasionally, cook something, take her to Junes, play with her; literally any of those things will help! But you won't be able to do a damned thing if you don't go and fix this yourself. _Right now_." Yu stopped his tirade, breathing a bit from the adrenaline coursing through him. Dojima looked shocked, but then fixed his face into a pained smile.

"You're right…I need to stop running away." He looked at Yu, nodding. "Thanks, Yu. I needed that." Without waiting for a response, Dojima headed over to his daughter, intent on repairing his family. Yu smiled, and turned to head home, calling the Investigation team on a group call to let them know Nanako'd been found.

* * *

 _The next evening._

Dojima was acting a little strangely. He'd called Souji, Yu and Nanako downstairs, and then had subsequently sent them back up. Now, the trio heard him calling once more, and made their way downstairs for the second time that evening.

Nanako gasped as she reached the floor, running over to the table with a look of wonder on her face. "What's this?" she asked, turning to her father.

"Well, I decided it was time we celebrate something." Dojima said, turning to the twins. "Come sit down" he said, leading the boys to the table. On it was a small cake and two small boxes, ornately wrapped.

"What are we celebrating?" asked Souji and Yu, sitting down at their regular spots around the table.

"Well, I thought it was time we officially became a family here." Dojima said, smiling.

"But what about before?" Nanako asked, looking puzzled.

Dojima turned to her, searching for the right words. "Well….we were a family before…but this celebration is so that we remember that, and the lessons we've learned about being a family." This answer seemed to satisfy Nanako, and Dojima turned back to the twins. "Before we get started, I have something for you two." He grabbed the two boxes, handing them to the two boys. "Go ahead and open them." he said, eyeing the twins with a degree of apprehension.

The twins looked at each other, then tore open the wrapping and opened their boxes, pulling out the contents. They were mugs.

Yu's was silver on the inside, and black on the outside, with thin red accents running in diagonal lines down the side. Souji's was a royal blue, with gold accents crossing the mug in a vine pattern. The interior of his mug was also silver. The two boys turned the mugs in their hands, and noticed a symbol etched into the mugs on one side; it was the symbol of the Fool Arcana. "I found drawings of that in your room. I didn't know what it was, but you two seemed to like it, so I had it put on them." Dojima said, noticing where the twins were looking.

The silverettes also noticed their names were on the mugs, etched into the interior and exterior of the handle, and another small etching was seen along the bottom rim, a unique saying for each boy. Souji's etching read "Fortune comes to He who seeks Her", and Yu's read "Let your Heart rule your head, for Love is blind."

The twins looked up at their uncle, tears in their eyes as they beamed at him. "Thank you, Uncle Dojima…" Souji said, Yu nodding his thanks, unable to find the words; this little gesture meant more than most would realize.

"It's the same kind that Nanako and I use. Take good care of them." Dojima smiled, and continued speaking. "We're family. So, I'll fill yours and Nanako's mugs anytime…Don't forget that." The twins nodded, and Dojima leaned forward to cut the cake, serving it to each person at the table. Their celebration lasted until Nanako began to get tired. Dojima picked her up, carrying her to bed. Saying goodnight to their uncle, the twins picked up their mugs and headed for their room, ready to go to sleep.


	17. Memories

Souji studied the comb in his hands carefully, examining it from every angle, attempting to find something out of the ordinary. But despite his best efforts, there was nothing strange about the comb, other than it seemed to be made from a bamboo not found in the Inaba region, and it had a very unique design. "Sorry, Marie-chan" he said, handing the comb back to the Velvet Room dweller. "As far as I can tell, it's just a comb."

Marie looked downcast; she'd been hoping there would be something more. After their latest visit with Marie, the twins had been tasked with helping Marie regain her lost memories. Today, they were attempting to start that process, but it seemed to be starting poorly. Yu looked at the comb himself, taking it from Marie after asking her permission.

"Huh…" he said, looking at the comb plainly. "Y'know, there's not a single shop around here that sells such ornate combs…this one looks like a museum piece too." Marie shifted her gaze to Yu as he spoke, a hopeful look on her face. Yu smiled as he noticed the change in his friend's mood. "I have an idea. Why not take this to Kanji's shop, Tatsumi Textiles!"

Souji nodded, inwardly berating himself for not seeing such an obvious answer. He made a note to begin working on that, and then suggested they head out.

* * *

"Of course there's another person on the Midnight Channel! Y'know, forget saving Rise and having Naoto tracking our every movement, we now have another person to save; and it's that weird kid that hit on Yukiko at the beginning of the year!"

Souji was pacing around the twins room, ranting quietly so as not to wake the rest of the household. Yu looked at his brother, confused. "Okay? So we just need to get some information on the kid, and go rescue him. What's the big deal?"

Souji turned around, looking at his brother a bit incredulously. "What's the big deal?" he asked. "The deal is that we're being watched! Anything we do is suspect, and I'm pretty sure Naoto's mentioned something to Dojima, 'cause he's been asking more and more questions recently! And now we have 'the killer'…" Souji threw his hands up in air quotations, sarcastic tone portraying what he thought about such "evidence." "…trapped in the T.V world. Hell, we just got our scooters a couple of weeks ago! We've barely been able to use them, other than going to Okina a couple of times and finally finding that damned beach!"

Souji continued ranting, oblivious to the fact that Yu was tuning him out as he listened to Teddie, who had taken over Yosuke's phone after the brunette had called, much to Yosuke's chagrin.

Souji was going on and on about the scooters, having received Dojima's old scooter as a reward for being a huge help at the station, while Yu had won a nice black scooter at a raffle for part-timers at Junes; he'd taken Yosuke up on his offer, and he, Yosuke, and Teddie would often be found scurrying around Junes, picking up the slack Yosuke normally had to do by himself.

Yu sighed as he hung up, and grabbed his brother, halting both his speech and motion. "I get it, you're upset. Calm down." Yu said, smiling at his brother. Souji didn't do this very often, and Yu had learned to just let him vent when he got to this point; it solved the situation faster than trying to rationalize his problems. Souji took a deep breath, thankful that Yu had stopped him before he'd woken up the house with his outburst. The two dressed themselves for bed, and fell asleep shortly thereafter. It was going to be a long few days.

* * *

Honestly, Yu was having fun. They'd come to the T.V world after spending a couple of days gathering information on one "Mitsuo Kubo", and had discovered that the world he'd created was stylized after a retro video game, complete with 8-bit music and everything. They had entered and ascended the many levels of the dungeon, discovering that Mitsuo was taking credit for the murders of Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi, as well as King Moron. However, despite all of that, Yu was enjoying himself.

According to Rise, they were a floor below Mitsuo and his Shadow, and had just reached the stairs after cutting down more shadows. "Y'know, for a crazed lunatic, the kid creates a pretty decent game!" quipped the silver-haired youth as he rummaged through the remains of their latest foe, searching for the items it had left behind.

Yosuke and Souji nodded, grinning. "Yeah, well…every boy enjoys video games!" Yosuke said, deftly twirling his Nata.

The girls all sighed as one; they couldn't believe what they were hearing. "You guys do know that we're here for business, right?" Chie said, exasperated.

Souji looked at the martial artist, raising his hands innocently. "What, we can't combine the business of getting Mitsuo out _and_ enjoy ourselves at the same time?" asked the teen, giving the girls puppy eyes.

Kanji shook his head. "Geez, senpai, you're really surprising sometimes, y'know?"

All three elder boys turned to their underclassmen, grinning. "Of course!" they chirped in unison, earning a small round of giggling from Yukiko while Chie sighed again.

Rise gazed at the elder boys; staring at Yu, specifically. "Wow, Senpai, you're really cool sometimes!"

Souji shook his head, enjoying the compliment and laughing inwardly as his brother blushed furiously while Yosuke looked away, whistling. "C'mon" said the silverette, fixing his Tonfa, "Let's head up and get Mitsuo. I've got a few questions for him."

* * *

Souji stood dumbstruck, staring at the dissolving Shadow as Mitsuo continued to reject it, maniacally claiming that he had murdered all three people repeatedly. "Wait, how….does that mean he didn't face himself? He didn't get a Persona!" Rise said, looking confused. Kanji and Yosuke began interrogating the offending boy while the girls crowded around, adding in their two cents every now and then.

Yu approached Souji, who had reversed the ends of his Tonfa so that the blades were facing away from his hands, metal caps of the blunt ends shining in the arena light. "Somethings wrong with this situation…" the team leader mused, looking down thoughtfully, chewing on the toothpick that had found its way into the boy's mouth.

Yu stood patiently on one side of his brother while Teddie approached from the other. "What's wrong, Sensei?" the bear asked, looking concernedly at the silverette.

Souji shook his head. "I never believed Mitsuo to be the killer…and the way he was rejecting his shadow…" He paused, looking up and walking to the spot where the Shadow had disappeared, summoning his Persona. Teddie and Yu looked at each other, and walked closer to Souji, who began doing something with Morpheus. The large Persona reached down, placing a hand on the spot where Souji was looking, and the images of Mitsuo and his shadow from moments earlier began to replay.

"Woah…didn't know Morpheus could do that…" Yu spoke, looking at his brother, a look of awe on his face. Teddie was squealing quietly as he stared at the images, asking Souji how he'd done that.

"Morpheus commands dreams." Souji said, staring intently at the scene before him, watching as it replayed over and over, voices speaking as Mitsuo rejected his shadow. "This is him connecting to the dream-world, pulling a memory from my head and allowing me to visualize it without the distractions of my own thoughts erasing the image." Yu whistled lightly, impressed by the strange power Souji and his Persona wielded. Souji began to speak, voicing the thoughts in his head. "Mitsuo's shadow never made mention of the deaths of Yamano or Saki; it just repeatedly claimed that it was 'empty'…and Mitsuo was rejecting it by claiming he'd killed those two, as well as Morooka…"

Yu looked at the images, mind following what Souji was saying, but not making the connection Souji seemed to be laying out. "So, what does that mean then? Are you saying Mitsuo didn't kill those three?"

Souji shook his head. "No, he definitely killed. But…" he trailed off, thinking. "…I don't think he killed Yamano and Saki. But Morooka's death was different. Blunt force assault killed him; an identifiable cause. Neither Yamano or Saki had an identifiable cause of death." Souji nodded, coming to what he believed to be the truth. "I believe…Mitsuo killed Morooka as a copycat killing. Remember how the voice in the dungeon said he'd leveled up after each killing? The first two increased his loneliness or some such drivel, but Morooka's killing increased his fame. He probably did so to get noticed."

Yu nodded, seeing what Souji was saying.

"Hey, we should probably get outta here!"

The twins and Teddie turned around, Morpheus and the images disappearing as they did so. Yosuke was calling them over, and they saw that Kanji was carrying Mitsuo over his shoulder, unconscious as Kanji had knocked him out. Souji, Yu, and Teddie jogged over, catching up to their friends so that they could leave the dungeon, new information whirling through Souji's head.

* * *

The Investigation team stared up at the sky, fireworks bursting in the air. They gazed at them, enjoying the simple pleasure of each other's company. A lot had happened in the past few weeks; the summer festival had happened, and Teddie had stolen the girls from the boys, much to Yosuke and Yu's chagrin. Souji looked over at the two aforementioned boys.

Chie and Yosuke were standing next to each other, Yosuke's arm wrapped around his girlfriend's shoulder, pulling her in close. Rise was holding Yu's arm, holding hands with him and leaning her head on his arm. The silverette was smiling, leaning his head on hers. The two had recently started going out, and Souji was already tired of hearing his brother's ecstatic ramblings, but he enjoyed the fact that his brother had found happiness with Rise. The fight to get her out of the T.V world had been a tough one, but Yu had made sure that they made it out safely.

Kanji and Yukiko stood off to the side, whispering to each other, discussing the day-to-day business of their stores, and Kanji handed Yukiko a small knitted doll on a strap, a cell phone strap to be specific. Yukiko blushed, thanking the ex-punk, and looked back up to the sky, watching the fireworks gleam. Teddie and Nanako were standing together, happily shouting Teddie's version of "Tedmayaaa!" as the fireworks exploded.

Souji felt an ache in his chest as he looked back at his brother and Yosuke. _"They really look like they're happy…"_ the silverette thought sadly, looking down at the ground.

Dojima came up behind him. "Why the long face?" his uncle asked quietly.

Souji shook his head, wiping his eyes a bit as he felt them begin to sting. "It's nothing…" he mumbled, looking back up. Dojima turned the boy to face him, and motioned for him to follow the elder detective to one of the nearby benches. They sat down, looking at the rest of the group as they continued to enjoy the fireworks.

"It's not nothing if you of all people looks to be on the verge of tears" Dojima said, turning to look at the young boy who'd come to be as a brother to the man.

Souji shook his head. "I guess…I'm just a little jealous." The youth said, looking back up at his friends.

Dojima nodded. "I bet I can guess why." He smiled gently, reaching over to squeeze the boys shoulder. "You'll find that kind of happiness someday, Souji. Trust me, I never thought I'd feel that way until Chisato and I met. She was one of the brightest points in my life." The detective's face flashed in pain, but returned to the gentle smile it had before; ever since Souji and Yu had helped him with himself and Nanako, the memories of his late wife weren't as painful as before. Souji's shoulders shook as he chuckled, a few tears managing to escape from the silverettes eyes. Dojima ruffled Souji's hair. "You'll find her someday Souji. Life has a funny way of working out like that." Dojima said wisely. He turned to give Souji a wry smile. "I think you'll find her sooner than you think."

Souji gave his uncle a smile of his own, a quizzical look in his eye. "What makes you say that?"

Dojima shrugged. "Just a feeling I had." said the elder detective.

Souji shook his head, grinning. "Your detective's intuition, huh?" The two sat in silence, watching the fireworks as they slowly started to end. "Thanks, Uncle Dojima" Souji said quietly.

His uncle smiled. "Anytime, Souji." was his response. He stood up, calling Nanako over. "I need to get Nanako back home. You guys don't stay out too late, okay?" The group of teens nodded, and walked back to the entrance of the hill. They began to reminisce about their summer, the good times and the bad all coming together. Souji thought back to the days long past.

He'd been so busy, he hadn't noticed that time had passed so quickly. The twins had helped Sayako remember her reason for working; the elderly lady had finally accepted her past; a young boy they'd been tutoring had managed to achieve his wish and made friends; the young child and his step-mother from the daycare had reconciled. The Fox's shrine was busier than ever, as the twins had finally completed the last of the ema requests, and Marie was struggling to regain her memories with the twins help. Kanji had opened up to Souji, and the two had cemented their bonds with each other, as had the rest of the group. Their Persona's had taken on new forms, becoming even stronger than ever before.

A statement from Kanji brought Souji back to the present. "Oh yeah. We should have asked that kid to come with us."

Yosuke looked at the younger boy questioningly. "What kid?" he asked, and Kanji shuffled a bit on his feet.

"Uh…well…" he muttered, and Souji understood who he was talking about.

"You mean Naoto?" he asked, and Kanji nodded. Souji thought about it; the idea was appealing, and he'd like to get to know the famous Detective Prince more. He was about their age, surely he could use some friends.

Rise nodded. "We might not ever see him again. I'd hate to leave him like that. I said some pretty harsh things…" the former idol looked downcast, and Yu gave her hand an appreciative squeeze.

Yosuke shook his head. "I doubt he was the type of guy who'd come watch fireworks anyways. Remember how he said he didn't have any friends, not that he'd want any?" The group looked sullen.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be such a downer." Rise apologized.

"It's fine. I mean, he was a pretty good-looking guy. He might've been a roadblock in…erm…other ways." Chie punched her boyfriend hard in the arm.

"Wow Yosuke, you really only think about girls, huh?" Teddie teased, earning a reproachful glare form the Junes Prince.

"Shut up, you were thinking it too!" The group laughed, passing a while in nostalgic discussion.


	18. A New Development

_The day before the fireworks festival_

Souji was sitting at his uncle's desk at the Inaba police station, looking through one of the many reports he'd been handed for filing. Over the short few weeks he'd been helping here, Souji had helped to reduce his uncles' workload almost tenfold, he'd become good friends with Adachi, and was the talk of the station for his quick wit and keen eye. Unless Naoto was in. The talk would instead turn to mutterings and groans about the young boy's fervent insistence that the case wasn't over.

Souji agreed, albeit secretly due to his personal involvement being unknown to all but his friends, and in his discussions with Dojima on the subject had learned that his uncle was also inclined to agree with Naoto, but couldn't throw his full support behind him due to the Prefectural Police's decision to close the case after the arrest of Mitsuo Kubo. A slight cough caught his attention, and Souji looked up to see the sleuth standing a couple of feet away, looking at him expectantly.

"Ah… how can I help you, Shirogane-sama?" asked the silverette, placing the file he'd just finished into the cabinet on his right. Naoto waited until Souji was finished before answering the youth.

"Come with me. I'd like your assistance." Souji stared at the Detective Prince, somewhat perplexed as to what was going on before rising, deciding it would be better to simply go and find out rather than asking questions. Naoto nodded, and turned to head towards the detention wing, Souji following close behind. The pair stopped short of the detention hall, and Naoto pulled Souji into a secluded side-area, speaking in hushed tones.

"I need your help, Seta-san." He said, eyes darting behind the teen to ensure they weren't seen.

"What do you mean?" Souji asked. Naoto turned his full attention to Souji, a hard and determined look in his eyes.

"The case isn't over. I know you believe that as well; Dojima-san has spoken with me in confidence about his and yours stances on this." Souji nodded, he'd also been told as much before. "However, I need to crack Mitsuo Kubo, who repeatedly states that he killed all three victims. Bearing that in mind, I'd like your help."

Souji cocked his head to one side. "How so? What would you have me do?" he asked the young detective, mind whirling as he answered his own question.

"I need you to interrogate Kubo in my place. This will have to be off the record; it was the only way I could get it approved. Nothing Mitsuo says can be used against him, nor can it be used to re-open the Yamano case."

Souji nodded, feeling slightly overwhelmed at what he was being asked to do. "And you will be observing this alone, I take it?" Naoto nodded. "You'll be in the interrogation room alone with Kubo; I'll be in the observation unit alone." He gave Souji a wry smile. "Since this was my idea, no one else wanted to have anything to do with it. Will you help me?"

The boy's eyes took on a slight appearance of pleading, and something in that look broke the reservations Souji had. "Of course, Shirogane-sama. I'd be glad to help."

Naoto let go a sigh of relief. "Thank you. And please, don't call me Shirogane-sama. It makes me feel…uncomfortable." Souji nodded "Would just Naoto work then?" he asked.

Naoto nodded, satisfied with the change. "Let's go. The interrogation begins soon."

* * *

Souji waited outside for a few minutes, going over Mitsuo's background before entering. He would have to be very careful; if he let slip anything about the T.V world, or allowed Mitsuo to say anything, he could easily be dead in the water. He adjusted the earpiece on his head to rest a bit more comfortably; Naoto had given this to Souji so that he could relay instructions and questions to the silverette inconspicuously. Taking a steadying breath, Souji opened the door, composing his face into a small frown.

Mitsuo's head was pointed at the table, his eyes closed as his cuffed hands fidgeted in his lap. Souji placed the file lightly on the table and sat down opposite from Mitsuo, studying the boy carefully. He was dressed in the same orange shirt Souji had seen him in last, albeit it was actually cleaner; apparently they had given him spare clothes and cleaned this set. His hair was unkempt, and his mouth was moving slightly, as if he was whispering to himself, but no noise came from him. "Hello, Mitsuo" said the silverette quietly.

Mistuo's head snapped up, and he gazed at Souji in fear. "Wh-what are you doing here?" the boy asked.

 **"Interesting…have you two met before? Ah that's right, you and your friends apprehended him after you saw him stalking Yukiko Amagi. Continue."**

Naoto's voice came through the earpiece as he remembered the story Souji and Yu had come up with to explain how they'd come across Mitsuo after bringing him back to this world.

"Ah, so you do remember me…that's good, Mitsuo." Souji tapped the file lightly. "You know, not many people in this world would have confessed to murder. You must be a very brave individual, or a very stupid one."

Mitsuo relaxed, sensing what Souji was asking. "Y-yes, I did kill those three. That Yamano lady and that Konishi girl. And that stupid asshole, Morooka! I told him to stop, but he wouldn't listen!" Kubo's eyes became manic, and he started to grin slowly.

Souji continued on, Naoto occasionally speaking guidance into his ear, but Mitsuo just continued his mad ramblings about the murders. Souji sighed; he was getting nowhere with this. Suddenly, he felt a small weight settle onto his lap, and looked down to see what was there. His eyes widened in shock. _"What the- Morpheus!? How is my Persona here in this world?!"_

Souji's Persona was in his lap, tall enough to see over the table, and was holding his black staff in his right hand. He stood stock still, almost like some toy or model. Souji got an idea. He picked the Persona up and placed him on the table in front of him, keeping it out of Naoto's sight. "Mitsuo…" the silverette got the boys attention, and his eyes were drawn to the figure on the table in front of him.

"Wha-?" he began, but choked as he looked at the staff, which was now glowing. Mitsuo's eyes glazed over, his shoulders dropped, and he slowly stopped smiling, letting his face relax.

"Mitsuo…did you kill Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi?" Souji asked again quietly.

"No…" Mitsuo said slowly, looking tired. Souji heard Naoto gasp slightly in his earpiece

"Did you kill Kinshiro Morooka?" the silverette asked, looking at the boy intently.

"Yes…" Mitsuo said.

"Why did you kill Morooka?" Souji asked, feeling his pulse race.

"Because…he pissed me off. He was yelling at me about leaving the girls around town alone, and how they'd never like a guy like me. He called me a stalker." Mitsuo swayed slightly, a look of anger flashing in his eyes, but returned to the complacent look from before.

Morpheus disappeared as Souji got the truth from the boy, and he stood up, grabbing the file on the table. "Thank you, Mitsuo" was all he said as he left.

Naoto was outside to meet him shortly. "How did you do that?" he asked, looking gleeful and upset at the same time.

Souji shook his head. "I don't know. I guess he just got tired of being asked the same question over and over."

Naoto looked unconvinced, but shook his head. "I see…regardless, this information has convinced me. However, I can't use it with the police…" Naoto closed his eyes, and then sighed as he opened them. "This helped me greatly. You have my gratitude, Seta-san." He nodded at the silver-haired teen, and then walked off before getting a response.

Souji stared after him. "You're welcome, I guess…" he said at the detectives back, then shook his head. It was getting late, and Dojima was probably back with Adachi from wherever it was he had been. He headed back to the main office, trying to understand just how Morpheus had appeared here.

* * *

 _A few days later._

Souji couldn't speak. Hell, he could scarcely believe what was going on as he stared at the retreating figure of Naoto Shirogane in the Yasogami uniform as the boy walked into his school. "Senpai? That detective boy's our underclassman?" Chie asked, bewildered. Yosuke and Chie began talking animatedly about this development as Yu waved his hand in front of his brother's face.

"Yo, earth to Souji. Is anyone home?" he poked his brother's arm, but got no response. Yu then slapped his brother in the face, eliciting a gasp of pain as Souji's head flew sideways. "Good to see you've returned to the land of the living, bro." Yu smiled as Souji rubbed his face, giving his twin a hard glare. "Judging by that look on your face earlier, I'm gonna assume this was a surprise." Yu said.

Souji nodded. "He said he was getting pulled from the case, but I didn't imagine that he'd be enrolling here…" Souji mused.

Naoto had said he'd been living by himself in a nearby apartment, and Souji wondered if the young boy would be okay. _"It's not like he has any friends to check up on him either…maybe I should try to get his cell number…."_ Souji shook his head as the bell rang; there'd be time enough for that later. Kashiwagi'd have their heads if they were late to class, despite the fact that all she was talking about was the upcoming school trip to Tatsumi Port Island.

* * *

Souji, Yu, Chie, Yukiko and Yosuke were hanging out by the lockers after school. The Investigation team hadn't had a lot to do after apprehending Mitsuo, as the case had been closed, and no one else had appeared on the Midnight Channel. Yosuke was commenting on that very fact now.

"C'mon, Yosuke, everything went back to normal. It's a good thing!"

Yosuke pinched the bridge of his nose. "I didn't mean it that way! It's just…"

Yukiko, who hadn't been paying a whole lot of attention, interrupted the brunette. "Hey, we're stopping by Junes later, right? Why don't we ask Naoto-kun to join us?" the innkeeper chirped. The team looked at Yukiko strangely. "Oh…I just thought, since he doesn't know anyone yet…that he might be lonely…" Yukiko looked at the team hopefully.

"Didn't he say he came here to help out with the murder case?" Yosuke asked, and Souji nodded affirmatively. "With the case closed, he's just an ordinary guy now."

Yu and Souji glanced at each other. Although Souji had shared the events from the police station with his brother, the twins had decided to withhold the information from the rest of the team. "Hello Senpai!" Rise walked up, grabbing Yu's arm and giving him a kiss on the cheek as she greeted the 2nd years.

Yosuke continued. "Maybe he transferred here out of plain stubbornness. 'Cause he doesn't seem like he's only in it for fun"

Rise looked confused. "We're talking about going to see if Naoto wants to hang out." Yu informed his girlfriend, who brightened at the idea.

"That sounds like fun!" she said, and the team walked over to Rise's class to find the young detective. They saw him backed against a wall by two girls, who seemed a bit… _excited_.

"You dunno the area yet, right? C'mon, we'll show you around."

"There's probably tons of places to hang out that only we'd know about."

The girls moved a bit closer to Naoto, who shook his head and reached up to hold his cap. "That won't be necessary" he said. "I'm not interested in "hanging out", and neither am I interested in you two." The girls looked pissed, and pressed closer to Naoto.

"Huh? Hey, what did you say?!"

"What's with that attitude? We're just trying to be friendly."

Before he knew what he was doing, Souji had stepped forward. "Excuse me, but I'm going to have to ask you to back off. I already have a reservation on Naoto-kun's time" Souji interposed himself between Naoto and the girls, who had stepped back at the sight of the teens eyes; his silver gaze sent warning signs ringing through their heads.

As Fortune would have it, Kanji walked out of his class at that exact moment, right behind the girls. He stopped as he noticed his friends walking up, and then saw Souji and Naoto in front of him. "Hey, what's going on?" he asked, blushing slightly as he saw the look on Naoto's face.

"Oh…um…"

"We'll just be going now…"

The girls hurried away, and the Investigation team broke into laughter, except for Kanji, who was still confused as to what was going on.

Souji turned around, smiling lightly. "Sorry, Naoto, but they didn't look exactly friendly."

Naoto shook his head, still looking a bit shocked. "You have my thanks, Senpai. May I help you?"

Chie spoke up excitedly. "Hey, Naoto-kun! If you're not doing anything after school, wanna come with us?" she looked at the sleuth fervently.

"Come with…you mean me?" Naoto looked shocked and confused again as the team nodded. "…Perhaps, another time. I have some things to mull over…"

Rise looked at her classmate questioningly. "Things to mull over?" she asked.

 _"He's still thinking about the case"_ Souji thought knowingly.

Naoto looked back at Souji. "I must go straight home today. I promised my Grampa so." The team looked sullen, except for Kanji, who looked surprised at the mention of the word "Grampa". Naoto apologized, and took his leave of the team.

* * *

The team was sitting around their usual spot at Junes, discussing Naoto's debut at Yasogami.

"…he has this mysterious air around him that draws your attention" Yukiko finished, describing how Naoto was a little different.

"Whoa, Yukiko, I never knew…You like younger guys?" The raven-haired innkeeper blushed furiously, and Souji noticed Kanji shift in his seat and look away. Chie spoke up, pointing out Naoto's earlier comment about "things to mull over".

"He's gotta be talking about the murder case" said the martial artist. The team looked puzzled. Chie briefly mentioned that Junes was no longer the team's special headquarters, which made everyone feel depressed.

Yosuke sought to brighten the mood by discussing the class trip. "Where are we going?" he asked.

"Tatsumi Port Island." replied Yukiko knowingly. Yu looked up, surprised. He had a pen-pal from the high school in that city, Gekkoukan High School. He briefly thought about writing him, but decided against it. Junpei had told him he'd been busy with something the last time they had spoken, and it had been a long time since then. Two years, actually. Junpei had probably graduated by now.

Rise spoke up, and the team planned events to do briefly, until Chie told them about the scheduling behind it, explaining that it was a social studies trip. Kanji and Rise informed the team that the first years would be there as well, telling the team they could ditch if they wanted to, with Yukiko explaining that the trip was a bit like the campout. "Doesn't this seem like a pain in the ass to anyone else?" Yosuke asked. Chie and Kanji nodded.

"Some people were against the idea, but it's already been decided. King Moron planned it."

Yosuke groaned. Teddie came up behind them. "No! King Moron!" he groaned, imitating Yosuke. The team discussed a few more things, Teddie interposing a question every so often, then parted ways to head home.


	19. The Detective Prince

The team walked off the train, happy to finally stretch their legs after the long trip. The girls were looking over the schedule while the boys stood nearby, discussing what they would be doing during the small amount of free time they'd been allotted.

"I'd like to see if a pen-pal of mine is still hanging around." Yu said, thinking back to a few days ago.

"Wow, that's both cool and lame at the same time. Who has pen-pals anymore?" Yosuke quipped, earning a reproachful look from his friend.

Kanji shook his head. "Personally, I'd like to see what kinds of cloth they sell around here. I haven't seen a whole lot of machine-made material."

Souji nodded. "Honestly, I'm not sure what I'd want to do. This is a bit new to me. I think I may go with you, Kanji. I'd like to see what you think of big-city clothing." Souji smiled as Kanji's face flushed.

With more of Yu's guidance (and a lot of reading material his twin had provided), Souji had become as understanding and expressive as his brother, who in turn had gotten more diligent as he'd taught Souji the art of social tact.

"Hey, could we ask Naoto-kun to join us if we go out?" Yukiko asked suddenly as the girls approached. The group turned, looking at the sleuth as he stood by himself by the stations vending machines. Souji grinned, a plan formulating in his mind. Yu looked at him, sensing something from his brother.

The two turned and looked at each other, an unspoken message passing between them for the first time in a long while. "Well, I don't see why not." Yu said, looking back at the detective.

Souji nodded. "Let's see if he wants to go anywhere after school today" he said, much to the Teams pleasure.

* * *

"Woah, so this is a club!"

The team had come into Club Escapade at Rise's request, and was amazed to see the high energy atmosphere. Yu and Souji snickered; the twins were used to this, though Yu felt more at home than Souji did. Teddie gasped, amazed at all the sights and sounds of the club. The bear had followed them all the way to Port Island after swearing off topsicles to save money for a train ticket, much to Yosuke's chagrin.

"Wow, this place feels so…alive!" said the brunette, looking around and nodding his head to the beat of the music; it had been a long time since he'd experienced this feeling.

"There's nothing like this back home…" Yukiko said, gazing around in wonder. The group turned to walk around and ran into Naoto, causing Kanji to turn around in embarrassment. The sleuth seemed surprised to see them.

"Is it permitted for high school students such as yourselves to be here?" he asked, eyeing the team suspiciously.

Yosuke looked annoyed. "Look who's talking! You were here before us!" The twins grinned amusedly; they hadn't expected to run into Naoto here of all places.

 _"Though now that I think about it, we don't really know anything about Naoto…not to mention this place is covered in the color blue."_ Souji grinned. _"Naoto would probably love the Velvet Room."_

Naoto shook his head. "The clientele here seems above-board, so I don't expect there'll be any problems." The detective made as if to go, but Chie stood in front of him, smiling mischievously as she did so.

"Huh? You're leaving?" she asked. Yukiko smiled warmly at the sleuth.

"Why don't you join us?" she asked, earning a surprised look from Naoto.

"Are you…asking me to stay?" he asked.

"Uh-huh. We didn't get to chat last time."

Naoto blushed, making Souji smile as he did so. _"Now there's something that you don't see every day"_ he thought.

"Ah…I…I-It's just that I had some matters to attend to that day."

Rise looked at her classmate. "Well, you're free now, right?" she asked. "I was really eager to talk to you. I was curious how someone my age is working as a detective."

Yukiko followed Rise up. "How about it?"

Naoto looked down at the ground, pulling his hat down a bit so as to hide his face, which continued to hold a healthy shade of pink. "Very well…if you insist" Naoto responded. The girls look pleased. Rise stated she would go and book a private room using her connections, earning a surprised response from Yosuke. Souji walked back to find Kanji, who was leaning on a wall, hiding from sight as best he could.

"You okay, man?" Souji asked his friend as he approached. Kanji looked up. "Y-Yeah, I'm just…" he trailed of, looking up at Naoto. Souji followed his gaze.

"You wanna talk about it?" he asked, turning back to face the ex-punk. "No…not really…I'm just…I don't know."

Souji placed a hand on the taller teens shoulder. "Relax. No one here would judge you for anything you feel. Why don't you talk to Yukiko about it later?"

Kanji nodded; face brightening as he thought about what Souji said. "Yeah, I think that would help. Thanks, Senpai!" Souji nodded, glad he could help his friend this time.

* * *

Souji sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He loved his friends, he really did. He'd faced down giant shadows with them, watched as they'd overcome themselves to grow stronger, and he'd gladly give his time or life should one of them need it. But sitting here in the private room Rise had reserved, he felt as if each and every one of them, Kanji excluded, was a bonafide moron.

"Number 1, my lap is yours!"

Yu smiled, swaying slightly in his seat. Rise stood up, squealing in victory as she walked over to her boyfriend, laying her head on his lap as she lied down next to him. The group had been sitting around, having a good time, when they'd begun to feel…off. Yukiko and Rise had been the first to fall victim, swaying and acting very open all of a sudden. Teddie had begun muttering strange things about Kanji, and Yosuke and Chie were feeling a little hot under the collar. Rise had "Kanjectured" that the drinks had been alcoholic, causing everyone to rapidly determine just how many refills they'd had. Yu had begun acting similar to Rise, and the whole thing had fallen apart there.

Souji sighed as he thought back to a few moments prior. Rise had pulled out chopsticks seemingly from nowhere and demanded that the group play the Kings Game. Teddie and Kanji were the first to fall out, and now Yu was King, and had ordered Rise to rest her head on his lap.

Souji had sniffed his drink, and the taste was perfectly normal. He wasn't feeling anything other than a headache at his friend's antics, and that admittedly had begun back at Gekkoukan as he'd learned about the story of Izanagi and Izanami. The drinks were perfectly fine; his friends were most likely drunk off of the atmosphere, allowing their vacation and pent-up stress to override their better sense.

Naoto sat between Souji and Yukiko, and had remained very quiet throughout the entire ordeal. Yukiko turned to him, proclaiming that she was now the King, and demanded Naoto to tell them about his past.

Naoto complied, informing the team about his family's history as a line of detectives, explaining how his parents had died when he was young, leaving his grandfather to care for him as he grew. Yukiko giggled, believing to have heard something embarrassing, and the group started questioning how they were to deal with the drunkards around them.

"You aren't drunk…" Souji said, looking hard at his brother. Yu just smiled lazily and waved at Souji, as if seeing him for the first time that night.

Naoto shook his head. "Are you a pack of imbeciles?" he asked. The night wore on as the group headed back to the hotel.

* * *

 _Back home after the trip._

Souji shook his head, looked back at the T.V, and then shook his head once more, as if that would change what he was seeing. Naoto was on the news, giving a report that directly questioned the closure of the Yamano case. This wasn't like the sleuth at all, thrusting himself into the spotlight. "What on earth is he doing?" Souji muttered.

Yu looked at his brother, who was fidgeting nervously with his chopsticks. "What gives? Why would Naoto be on T.V like this?"

Souji shook his head. "I'm not sure. This is completely abnormal."

Yu looked back at the T.V, a thought forming in his head. "Hmmm…" he hummed, deciding to think about it more later.

* * *

Yu and Souji were walking to school with most of the team, excluding Kanji and, of course, Teddie. The group was discussing what they'd seen the night before. "I didn't think he was the type to go after the spotlight" Chie remarked, causing the rest of the team to nod in agreement.

"Good morning."

A voice behind them made them jump, and the group turned around to see Naoto walking away from the school, dressed in his casual wear. Souji stared at the boy, astonished. "I've been waiting for you all. There's something I need to discuss with you regarding the case." The sleuth was avoiding Souji's eyes, instead looking past him at the others. "Could you please indulge my current theory on the matter?" The Team looked at each other, confused.

Yu nodded, seeing his brother not making a move. Naoto cracked a small smile, but it disappeared as fast as it had come. "What is it…?" Yosuke asked, moving a bit closer to Chie. Naoto turned away, and began to speak.

"First, as regards commonalities between the victims, all of them were kidnapped before they were murdered. The victims were all locals who had been the focus of recent media attention, becoming suddenly well-known...That is the most likely scenario. I don't believe there's anything intrinsically unique about the victims themselves...Haven't you all come to the same conclusion?"

The group nodded, affirming Naoto's words. "Yes, we did." Souji said quietly; something in his gut was churning.

"Then, allow me to state my point. Will you admit that a number of you fit these identical circumstances? There was a long interval between the second and third deaths in this case. But after I applied the aforementioned criteria, I discovered several similar disappearances had taken place. Yukiko Amagi. Kanji Tatsumi. Rise Kujikawa. All of you disappeared shortly after being shown on TV...Either you escaped death somehow, or you faked your own disappearances in order to divert attention from yourselves...Since some of you had ties to the victims, there came a point where I suspected one of you must be the culprit."

Chie gasped. "You thought one of us was the killer!? You can't be serious!" Yosuke placed an arm around her back, providing some comfort.

"This was a prior theory, since discarded. Putting together everything I've learned until this moment, I believe exactly the opposite. You aren't the culprits. You may, in fact, be the only ones with the means to pursue the true perpetrator...Seen as a joining of forces between the rescued, everything falls into place...Of course, this is all speculation. There is in fact a flaw in the theory. It doesn't account for the third incident...Mr. Morooka's murder. He has never been broadcast on television, and neither did he ever disappear. We must also consider the condition of his corpse. The first two victims are still listed with an unknown cause of death...But Mr. Morooka died of an easily identifiable blunt force trauma to the occipital cranium. The police have not satisfactorily resolved this discrepancy, yet they are desperate to close the case. Further action will be necessary to obtain some sort of decisive evidence."

Yu frowned. "What do you mean, further action?" Souji looked up.

Naoto glanced to him, then immediately turned his head. He was definitely avoiding Souji, and the silverette knew why. _"You're a damned fool, Naoto!"_ he thought, watching the detective walk away. Naoto stopped, turning his head a bit so that he could see the Team out of the corner of his eye.

"You all said something to me long ago…This is not a game to me either." He reached up and pulled the brim of his cap down, and walked down the road, away from the group.

Souji watched him go, fists balled, fighting back the urge to run after the young boy and stop him from what he was about to do. "Let's get to class…" he said quietly, turning away from the group and walking towards the school, head bowed.


	20. Naoto

Souji was furious. Luckily, Nanako and Dojima weren't home, as they'd gone to Okina and had decided to stay at a hotel nearby. This was fortunate, as Souji was quite literally yelling at the top of his lungs, walking up and down the stairs, banging his head on walls, swearing enough to make any sailor cringe, and mostly acting as if he'd just heard the worst news of his life; which he might as well have. Yu looked thrown; not only had he never seen his brother act anything close to how he was now, but Yu was at a loss for words himself after what they'd just seen. Souji didn't even hear Kanji calling him on his cell, and Yu had to pick up his brothers phone from the Futon where he'd thrown it before starting this…whatever this was.

"Before you say a thing, Kanji, you should hear this" Yu said, and pointed the phone in his brothers direction.

"….and he's got to be the biggest idiot I've ever known! Hell, Teddie's smarter than this chump! I mean, why the hell would anyone put themselves on the spot like that?! He has no freaking idea just how dangerous this is! He's knee deep in this crap, and he _knew_ something would happen! Why the hell else would he come and warn us?! Why the hell else would he have shown up on T.V!? He knew that was the connection, and went and threw himself in the line of fire like this! And for what?! To prove that the case wasn't over!? We already knew that, goddammit!" Souji walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Yu brought the phone back to his ear. "You catch all that?" he asked, hoping Kanji was still on the line.

"...uh…wow…and I thought I was pissed." Kanji said after a moment of silence.

"Well, Naoto is a bit of an idol to Souji after all, and they have been working together since we rescued Rise. I'm not surprised at his feelings, but I never expected him to react this harshly." Yu said, a look of concern washing over his face.

"Yeah, didn't you tell us that Souji reacted real badly whenever someone he cared about got threatened?" Souji, of course, had displayed one of his fear-response rants to the whole team at once in Mitsuo's dungeon, and Yu had explained the situation to the members who weren't there at the police station months ago. Yu sighed, sitting down as he heard Souji continue his tirade downstairs.

"Look, let's meet up at Junes tomorrow after school. We'll probably have to gather some information; Naoto didn't really tell anyone anything."

Kanji agreed, and Yu went downstairs to try and calm Souji down, knock him out if need be. _"It's going to be a long night"_ he thought wryly.

* * *

The group sat in one of the rooms, closing the doors on both sides to make sure shadows wouldn't come busting through. They all slumped against a wall or desk, feeling tired. "How many more floors do we have?" groaned Yosuke, rubbing one of his arms to return the feeling to it.

"We…have to backtrack to the research area." Rise said, leaning against Yu as she sat, who had his head tilted back and was breathing a bit heavily. The team groaned collectively.

Kanji sat near Teddie, who was mumbling something to Yukiko about seeing if Energy Shower might make the group feel better. He looked over to Souji, who was sitting by himself in a corner, sweat dripping from his face. The Investigation Team had arrived at Naoto's section of the T.V world after waiting a couple of days to gather some information. Despite the closeness of their work relationship, Souji had been unable to provide enough information to Rise to find Naoto; a fact that Souji had become highly annoyed over. They had fought their way past hordes of Shadows, who appeared to be very strong. The Team was out of practice, and they knew it. Souji, however, continued to push forward, stubbornly refusing to give in. Watching him now, Kanji saw the silverettes shoulders set, and he watched his close friend stand up, pulling some money out of his pocket.

"Fox…" he mumbled, and the animal showed up, as if by magic. He put the offering in the animal's apron, which had a small pouch attached to it, and the fox went around, pressing leaves to everyone's bare skin. The team felt energy flow back through them, and stood up shakily, feeling the need to press on. Souji looked at his friends, jaw set hard. "Let's get back to the research station, and find Naoto." he said, and opened one of the doors, summoning Morpheus to obliterate the enemy behind it.

* * *

The group stood before the door. Souji held the card they had received in the research station in his hand. "Naoto-kun's just beyond this door" Rise said.

Souji nodded. "I know" was his quiet response.

He slid the card down the scanner next to the door, and heard the lock release. The door crept open slowly, slower than Souji would have liked. Finally it opened, and the team stepped in. The room was a lab, with assorted tools and devices scattered around it. In the middle stood a metal bed, with many drills, blades, and other strange devices attached to it. And in front of it stood Naoto and his shadow.

The detective turned as the team entered, as if expecting their arrival. "Ah, it's about time y-." The sleuth never got to finish whatever he'd been going to say. Souji strode over to the boy quickly, turning him around to face him, and slapped him hard across the face before pulling him into a tight hug.

Souji's voice trembled as he spoke. "Never…." He spoke quietly "…Never, EVER pull something so stupid like this again!" Naoto was at a loss for words, and blushed as he tried to comprehend what had just happened, raising a hand to his face where he'd been struck.

"S-Senpai?!" he exclaimed, turning his head to look at the silverette as Souji released him from the embrace, holding the detective's shoulders as he stood at arm's length, ensuring that he had Naoto's full attention.

"I don't care what your thoughts were on the case. I don't care that you felt dissatisfied with the results. You and I found out that Mitsuo wasn't the killer; we'd known it all along. What I care about is your safety. Did you even stop to think what might've happened? This place is dangerous, Naoto, but even without knowing that, you put yourself in harm's way to satisfy a craving!"

Souji's eyes stung as tears fell from his face; he didn't care. Saving people who hadn't known better, who'd been kidnapped without warning was one thing, but the boy in front of him had become a close friend in to Souji, at least in his eyes. The thought that he'd put himself in danger to satisfy some need to prove himself infuriated the teen.

"Your life is more important than that! Did you stop to think about how your friends would have felt if they'd known?"

Naoto looked even more stunned. "F-Friends?" he stammered.

Souji shook his head exasperatedly. "Honestly, Naoto, you're the most stupid intelligent person I know. Yes, friends. You know, the people who are standing here in front of you? The ones who've been worried sick ever since you showed up on the Midnight Channel? We didn't ask you to hang out at the club because you're some famous detective or some pointless shit like that! We genuinely want to be your friend! Didn't you see that?!"

Souji felt adrenaline course through him. He didn't really understand why he felt so strongly about this entire thing. Logically, this was almost expected, given Naoto's stubborn determination on this case. Why was Souji so shaken up? What difference did it make? Another person showed up on the Midnight Channel, meaning that the killer was obviously still loose, not that Souji hadn't known that. And yet, here he was, yelling at Naoto for what he did, actually crying for the first time in years. He let his hands drop from Naoto's shoulders, backing away from the boy a bit to give him space. Yu came up behind him, placing a hand on his twins shoulder, squeezing gently. "Souji-senpai..." Rise said, tearing up at the display of emotion from the last person she'd expected it from.

Yosuke walked over with Chie and Yukiko. "Dude…" was all he could say.

Kanji nodded, and looked at Naoto. "Well, Senpai just let go of everything he's been holding back just now. Whaddya have to say to that? You just gonna stand there or somethin'?"

Naoto shook his head vigorously, and composed his face, masking any emotion in it. "All of that is irrelevant. It's time I left, anyways. I've gotten my answer, and this…child here is useless to me." He gestured behind him at the Shadow, which was sobbing into his oversized lab coat sleeves.

"No! No, don't go."

It shouted as Naoto began to walk away, ignoring the looks of disapproval he received from the Investigation Team. Souji stood quietly, shoulders shaking lightly. Naoto turned back to the Shadow, looking down slightly. "It's useless speaking with you. I need to go back now..."

The Shadow cried out again, begging. "Why? Why're you leaving me here!? Why am I always left alone!? It's so lonely...I don't wanna be alone!"

"Naoto-kun" said Yukiko softly, a gentle hand on Souji's back.

"You wear the same face as me...It's as if you're implying we're one and the same. But the difference between me and you is..." Naoto trailed off.

The Shadow cackled, a stark contrast to its earlier whining. "Why delude yourself? I am you." It continued on, relishing the look of annoyance on Naoto's face.

"These childish gestures are no mere affectation...They're the truth. The fools all say it, don't they...? 'You're only a child,' 'Keep out of our business, kid,' and so forth. No matter how many cases you spend hours cogitating over, no matter how many crimes you solve, you're a child in their eyes. It's your brain they're interested in. The grey matter locked up in that skull. As long as they need it, you're an ace detective! But once you're done, it's back to the playpen with you. You haven't the means to deal with society's two-faced nature...You're just a lonely child."

The Shadow laughed. "Naoto…" Yosuke said; the brunette couldn't help but feel for the Detective Prince.

"I wanna be a grown-up...I wanna be a big boy right now...Then they'll see who I am...I...I want a reason for me to stay..." the Shadow whined.

"That's enough!" Naoto said loudly. "I can find my own reason for living!" The sleuth stomped his foot indignantly.

"Hah...I'm telling you that's impossible. You are but a child. How can you change that essential truth?"

Naoto shook his head, trying to block out the Shadow's words. "S-Stop it" he said.

"At your core, you admire the sort of "strong" and "cool" men who populate detective fiction. But in trying to emulate them, you must know that in truth, you're nothing of the sort-you're a child. There's no avoiding first principles...Admit that you're a child, and admit that there's nothing you can do about it. Now then! Our analysis is complete. Let us begin the body alteration procedure. You have no objections, do you..."Naoto" Shirogane?" The Shadow relished the look on Naoto's face again as he stammered another rejection, seeing the worry that swept across the boy's face.

Souji looked up finally, eyeing the shadow angrily.

"'Naoto'...Such a cool, manly name! But a name doesn't change the truth. It doesn't let you cross the barrier between the sexes. How could you become an ideal man when you were never male to begin with...?" The Shadow laughed as Naoto became ghostly pale, hands fidgeting and knees shaking.

"Wait, WHAT!? Did he…Did I just hear that right?" Yosuke said, bewildered. Souji's eyes had grown wide, and he suddenly had a memory flash before his eyes; a piece of white cloth that looked like a bandage sticking out of Naoto's collar slightly as he…no, _she_ spoke to the group outside of Marukyu Tofu.

"H-He's not a guy?!" Kanji said, stepping back into Yu, who fell backwards onto the floor, not even trying to stop himself. Naoto struggled visibly. "I won't throw a tantrum…" she said quietly. "That accomplishes nothing…!"

The Shadow chuckled in response. "Hahahaha! How often I've heard those words from the adults. 'Throwing a tantrum won't solve anything, Naoto-kun,' and other such bilge! They made you cry, didn't they? Yet here you are, mimicking those same men. What exactly are you trying to justify?" Naoto looked even more shocked. Souji felt his hand twitch; Yu stood up and noticed a fire light in his brothers silver eyes.

"It's all right. You needn't suffer anymore. That's why you're undergoing this bodily alteration procedure to begin with. You throw a tantrum, but it fails to change the situation a single bit...I can quite understand the feeling. After all...I am you." The shadow said, looking Naoto in her eyes.

"That's not true!" said the young girl, stepping back.

Yu's eyes widened. "No, don't say it!" he yelled, but movement from Souji caught his attention.

"Let her get it out." He said quietly, shaking his friends off of him and adjusting his Tonfa, making sure they were on securely. "If we don't, Naoto's just going to keep on hurting." Kanji nodded; Souji had taken the words right out of his mouth.

The shadow turned to face the group, laughing. "As if you know anything about me!" it said, beginning to glow. "Come then, why don't you come learn all there is to know!"

The Shadow transformed quickly. It was robotic in appearance, wearing discoloured forms of Naoto's normal attire, with bits and pieces turned metal in a mismatched pattern. It hovered above the ground, a jetpack allowing it to fly, and it held two odd looking guns in its hands.

What happened next occurred faster than Yu could blink. Souji moved to catch Naoto, telling the team to let him handle this fight. Morpheus appeared as he took his first step, flying straight at the shadow, gauntlets outstretched as if to grab it. Both Master and Persona reached their targets at the same time. Souji caught Naoto as she fell, her legs giving out under her. Morpheus slammed into the Shadow, knocking one of its guns away as it continued its forward motion, shoving Naoto's Shadow through the metal wall behind it. A burst of magic's flowed down the Personas arm, erupting in the Shadows face where Morpheus had grabbed it.

The Shadow lashed out with a kick, removing the Persona and forcing it back. It flew up fast, circling around Morpheus, and pointed its gun at Souji, who was holding an unconscious Naoto in his arms. Morpheus flew at it, forcing its hand up as it fired, causing it to narrowly miss its target. The team began to move forward as the Shadow and Morpheus began their duel, but were blocked by the sudden appearance of many shadows.

"Damn, we gotta help Souji!" Yosuke said, slashing in front of him, causing two shadows to disappear, but four more took their place.

Yu swung his katana in a wide arc, Izanagi doing the same at his back. "There's too many to break through. Focus on protecting yourselves for now!" he yelled, forcing the shadows in front of him to retreat backwards momentarily.

Shadow Naoto flew up, forcing Morpheus to follow him into the air. "Morpheus, Bufudyne!" yelled Souji. The Persona complied, sending multiple bursts of ice flying at his target as if they were being shot from cannons. The Shadow deftly evaded the ice, firing its own magic back at the Dream-lord. Morpheus was struck multiple times by fire and lightning, causing it to recoil, but a shot of ice replenished its energy, and the Persona took off, slamming its left fist into the Shadow's stomach. Reaching up with his right hand, Morpheus grabbed the shadow by the neck, wrapping his large hand around it, crushing the Shadow. "Assault Dive! Now!" yelled Souji hoarsely, moving back as more shadows began to advance upon him; he couldn't use his Tonfa while he carried Naoto.

The Persona looked down quickly, seeing its master in danger. He firmed his grip on the Shadow, causing it to scrabble uselessly at the Persona's armored hands. Morpheus quickly brought Shadow Naoto in front of him, and flew down at high speed, directly at the Shadows threatening Souji. The two hit the floor hard, a small shockwave obliterating the nearby shadows. Morpheus then picked Naoto's Shadow up; the being was still struggling to continue fighting, firing off blasts of fire at Morpheus' face. From behind the wall of Shadows, Yukiko saw Morpheus flying around, releasing the Shadow as it tried to avoid the searing flames.

"Amaterasu! Red Wall!" she yelled, directing her Persona to assist Souji and his Persona. Souji saw one of Naoto's fire attacks connect, but leave little damage on his Persona.

"Thanks, Yukiko!" he yelled, and then turned his attention back to the battle at hand. He directed Morpheus to send another volley of ice at Naoto's Shadow, hoping that it would have some effect. Morpheus raised his left hand, calling ice to fall upon the Shadow from above. At the same time, he lowered his right hand, slowly raising it a bit as he created a pillar of ice below the Shadow. He slammed his hands together, crushing the Shadow between two walls of the powerful magic. As the ice disappeared, Naoto's Shadow fell down, but began to stand once more, Naoto's characteristic stubbornness showing through.

Souji smiled darkly; the image of extremely powerful light coursing through his mind. He called out to his Persona, falling to his knees as he felt a massive amount of energy drain from him, managing to keep from collapsing through sheer willpower, the need to protect Naoto overwhelming his exhaustion. "Morpheus! Megidolaon!" The Persona brought his hands up into the air, balling them into fists. A blinding light appeared above him, collecting into a massive ball of energy, larger than the previous spells Souji had cast. Moving swiftly, Morpheus brought his hands together, and threw them down in front of him like a hammer, and the spell went flying directly at Naoto's Shadow. It exploded on contact, crushing the Shadow beneath it, and obliterating the other Shadow's nearby, but left the Investigation team and their Personas unharmed.

Opening his eyes, Souji saw Naoto's shadow return to its human form, and felt Naoto stir against his chest. The sleuth slowly opened her eyes, confusion crossing her face as she tried to remember where she was. "Where…" she began, looking up at Souji. Her face flushed as she realized where she was, and she reached up, looking for her cap so as to hide her face. Souji smiled, glad that the ace detective was alright, and set her down, picking her hat up off the floor where it had fallen during the battle.

"Th-Thank you…" she said, placing the cap back on her head as Souji handed it back to her. She then pulled it down over her face as she had tried to do before, and turned to face her Shadow. "I lost both my parents in an accident. I was still young, so my grandfather took me in. I was inept at making friends...so I spent my time reading detective novels in my grandfather's study." The Shadow whimpered quietly as Naoto spoke.

"When I grow up...I'm gonna be an awesome, hard-boiled detective...!" it said. Naoto smiled gently.

"My parents were proud of their job. I had no qualms about following in their footsteps...An inherited occupation can feel stifling to many, but I welcomed it. I yearned for the day I could be a detective myself...Perhaps I inherited that desire from them as well. I was always alone...Seeing that, my grandfather must have believed it was his duty to help me realize my dream. I secretly aided my grandfather with his clients...And before I knew it, people started calling me Junior Detective. At first, I was delighted. But not everything went so smoothly..."

"What was that you said about 'You're only a child...?'" Yukiko asked.

Naoto nodded. "Not everyone welcomes my collaboration when it comes to solving cases...My status as a "child" was sufficient to offend many of those whom I worked with. Were that the only issue, then it would have resolved itself with time...But though I will one day change from a child to an adult, I will never change from a woman to a man..."

Yukiko looked at Naoto, another question on her lips. "Do you not like being a girl...? Is that why you always dress like a boy?"

Naoto nodded again. "My sex doesn't fit my ideal image of a detective...Besides; the police department is a male-oriented society. If they had the slightest "concrete" reason to look down on me, no one would need me anymore..."

Kanji shook his head. "You don't know that" said the ex-punk.

Souji came up behind her, placing a hand on the girls shoulder, causing her to jump slightly. "That's definitely not true…" he murmured, squeezing her shoulder gently.

"Hey...You must know already that what you yearn for isn't to become an adult or become a boy..." Yukiko said.

Naoto smiled a bit at the innkeeper's response. "You're absolutely right." She said. She looked down at her Shadow. "I'm sorry…I kept ignoring you, pretending you didn't exist. But you are me...and I am you. You've always been inside me. What I should yearn for...No, what I must strive for isn't to become a man. It's to accept myself for who I really am..." The Shadow nodded, grinning widely as a young child would, and disappeared.

In its place hovered a small persona, dressed in a blue boy's suit, a mask with red eyes glowing from the eye slot on its face, White and Blue kite wings on its back, and a long blue beam sword in its hand. Naoto gazed at the Persona in wonder, a tarot card that read "Fortune" in her hand. "Sukuna-Hikona…" she murmured in delight. The Tiny God nodded, and zoomed over to Souji, whirling around the silverettes head a few times before disappearing.

Naoto began to fall backwards again, but Souji was there, picking her back up. "Easy, detective…" he said quietly, supporting the girl's weight with one hand on the small of her back, another grasping her shoulder. Naoto leaned into Souji, unable to support her own weight at that moment.

"Thank you…" she mumbled, looking at the assembly of people around her.

Rise came over to Souji, whispering into the teen's ear. "You probably should carry her, Senpai. She's in no shape to walk right now." Souji nodded; he'd been planning on that anyways. As Naoto tried to take a step forward, she began to fall once more. Souji caught her again, this time picking the girl up and placing her on his back, carrying her piggy-back style.

"Wha- I don't need help!" she said, trying to squirm out of the youth's grasp, but Souji's strength prevented her from escaping.

"Naoto, just shut up and relax." Souji said, looking back at the young sleuth and smiling gently. Naoto blushed a bit, then sighed as she leaned forward, resting her head on Souji's shoulders. The teen nodded, satisfied that his friend seemed comfortable, then looked his comrades, who, although battered, were smiling, happy that they'd succeeded.

"Let's go home" Souji said, and began to walk towards the stairs, unaware that Naoto was smiling as she laid on his back.


	21. Any Excuse Works

Hello everyone! That last chapter was a bit wordy, huh? I enjoyed writing it though, so I hope you all enjoyed reading it as well. Unfortunately, here's where the main story will branch off a bit, as I'm going to go through Naoto's Social Link in it's entirety. "Don't worry, I wont be adding Ten chapters with each one being devoted to one part of the chain.. If you've read my profile, you'll understand that I'm doing this because this is my OTP for the Persona world, at least as far as Persona 4 goes. (unfortunately, I never was able to play Persona 3, but that'll change soon. I did, however, enjoy the anime. But that's also overshadowed by the upcoming Persona 5. Ahh, decisions.) Anywho, here's chapter 21. can't believe I've come this far. Enjoy!

* * *

Souji sighed. He turned over on the couch to check his phone again. No new messages. He'd already watched Tanaka's, and the rest of the group was busy, excluding Yu, who'd taken the day off from Junes to watch his brother. Yu sat at the desk, fiddling with some homework they'd received. It was already completed, but he was staring at it more as a distraction than anything else.

Souji had already torn through all the models that were available in the past week, and was trying to find something to do. It was Sunday, the day after they'd managed to rescue Naoto. The young sleuth had returned to her apartment with Rise's help, and the idol had banned anyone from going to see her, barring Rise herself. Souji was still worried, and had told Naoto to let him know if she needed anything, be it from the office or anywhere else; the two had exchanged numbers a while back, well before the case had "closed". Yu turned to his brother, eyeing him with some concern. Souji had no real desire to do anything, but seemed restless for something to do.

Yu suddenly remembered what day it was; they had a rare opportunity today. He stood up, throwing on his jacket, wearing it in the fashion Souji normally wore his school uniform, as he no longer wore the same fashion on his days off. "Yo, Souji! Throw something decent on. We're heading to the shopping district."

Souji rolled over to look at his brother. "Why the shopping district?" he asked, getting up nonetheless.

"You'll just have to wait and see, I guess" Yu grinned.

* * *

The twins walked up the street towards the shopping district. "What are you up to?" Souji asked, eyeing his brother suspiciously.

"Oh come on, Souji!" his twin grinned. "Don't you remember? We haven't fulfilled our promise to Marie-chan. Today is Sunday, after all!" Souji's eyes widened; in dealing with Naoto's disappearance and subsequent rescue, the silverette had forgotten all about Marie. _"She'd kill me if she found that out"_ Souji thought.

They walked up to The Velvet Room's entrance just as the young girl stepped out. "Good morning, Marie-chan!" said the twins brightly, Souji now forgetting his earlier boredom.

"Huh?" she said, looking up in surprise. "What are you two doing here?" she asked, looking between Yu and Souji.

"We thought we'd come by and see if you wanted to go anywhere today" said Yu, smiling.

Souji nodded. "If the fact that your friends want to hang out doesn't cut it, then I guess you can blame it on the fact that Igor says we haven't finished building our 'Social Link' with you yet." Souji shook his head, obviously displeased with that point of logic. "Honestly, it's as if the man thinks that we only care about gaining something."

Marie laughed. "Yeah, The Nose likes to do that to you two. He says he enjoys teasing you when he can." Marie looked at Souji seriously. "By the way, have you noticed anything different with Morpheus since last time?" Souji shook his head; he'd told the dwellers every time Morpheus had done something abnormal. The fight from yesterday hadn't fallen under that category; Souji had done that through his own power, not Morpheus'.

"Not yet, but I'll let you know if something does come up."

Marie nodded, smiling once again. "So, you wanted to know if there's somewhere I wanted to go, huh?" She looked down in thought, and then looked up, snapping her fingers. "I've got just the place." She grinned mischievously at the twins, who fought back the sudden feeling of uncertainty in their stomachs.

* * *

The twins were thankful once they'd escorted Marie back to The Velvet Room. They thoroughly enjoyed Marie's company, but had felt embarrassed when she'd asked to go to the twins' room. Dojima had raised his eyebrows when they'd walked in, but had done nothing other than shake his head, muttering something about "kids these days" after Souji had explained a bit of the situation to their uncle. Nanako had been excited, running up to greet the newcomer warmly. Marie had been taken aback at first, but had quickly fallen into entertaining the twins' cousin, enjoying herself as she did so.

They were headed back when Souji's phone buzzed. He stopped to check it, eyes dilating a bit when he saw a text from Naoto had arrived, asking him to please pick up something from Aiya's for her. Yu nodded, telling Souji to hurry home after he finished, then headed towards the Dojima residence. Souji headed for the Chinese restaurant, thinking about what Naoto would want. He shook his head as he entered, deciding that a standard beef bowl would probably be for the best until he learned what the Ace Detective preferred.

He was walking out of the store, bag of food in hand, when he was stopped by a man wearing a dark suit and sunglasses. His grey-silver hair shone in the afternoon sun. "Do you know about Luminol reactions? What part of the body do you use to test DNA? What's the best way to get someone's email address? What ten things can you learn from footprints?" The man bombarded Souji with questions, and the young teen had to stop and think quickly about the answers.

"Uh…Luminol is used by forensic investigators to detect trace amounts of blood left at crime scenes, as it reacts with iron found in hemoglobin…I believe blood, tissue, or hair tends to be best for determining DNA, though long bones or teeth will work if the body is decomposed…I imagine hacking works very well for finding someone's email, though I'm not sure it's the best…as for the footprints, you can learn a person's weight, approximate height, the way they walk, their preferred shoe type, their foot shape, where they've been recently, their physical health, the persons unique ridge patterns, any deformities in a person's foot, and where that person is headed."

Souji answered the questions to the best of his ability, wondering why he was being asked such questions; these were very obviously related to Forensic Science, and knowledge of these facts was important for any aspiring detective to man nodded as he received the answer to each of his questions. "I see, I see… you are quite an interesting young man. Do you know Naoto-sama…er…You know a detective by the name of Naoto Shirogane, correct?" The man looked a tad apprehensive, and Souji noticed when the man had stumbled over Naoto's name.

"Yes…I know Naoto Shirogane…" Souji said warily, edging away slightly; what was this man looking for?

"Yes, I know that you know him. Deliver this to him. He will understand." The man handed Souji a White Card.

Souji looked it over. For all intents and purposes, it was a blank card, but Souji sensed there was something more, especially if Naoto was involved. "What's this?" he asked, looking up, but the man was gone. Souji looked around, bewildered. How had the man evaded his notice like that? He shook his head, and began walking towards Naoto's apartment, texting Rise to let her know where he was headed. The idol wouldn't stop him if Naoto had asked herself.

* * *

He reached the apartment quickly, noticing it wasn't all that far from Dojima's house. It didn't look like a normal apartment, however; it appeared to be more of a small, single story house. Yu shook his head; of course, Naoto would have hidden this fact at first, the sleuth's lack of trust led her to misdirect people from information concerning herself. He knocked on the front door, musing to himself about the relatively quaint look the 'apartment' had, noticing a small flowerbox on the ground in the outer entryway, violets blooming in the early fall weather.

The shuffle of feet alerted him to Naoto's presence, and he turned as the door opened. "Hello? Ah, Senpai, thank you for bringing me some food." The detective looked tired, bags under her eyes alerting Souji to a severe lack of sleep.

"Are you alright, Naoto?" the boy asked, concerned for his friend.

Naoto shook her head "I'm sorry, yesterday's events seem to have worn me out more than I thought. Ah…might I impose on you to help me prepare this?" She held up the bag she'd taken from Souji slightly. "I'm afraid I'm a bit feeble at the moment. Rise-chan's been helping me since we returned yesterday, but she left earlier to run some errands, and forgot her phone here."

Souji nodded, glad to hear that the idol had been looking after the young detective, though he grinned inwardly; sometimes, Rise got distracted by her own compassion and ended up making things harder on those she was caring for.

"Of course, Naoto. May I come in?" Naoto nodded, and turned around to place the bag on a table nearby. Souji walked in, taking in the new surroundings. The house, as he now decided to call the establishment by what it obviously was supposed to be, was a bit spartan; it seemed the only real decorations were the flowers on the porch outside; an addition Souji thought was likely due to Rise's influence. The kitchen was on the left as he walked in, shaped as an open square with a small island in the middle, no wall separating it from the rest of the house, similar to the open concept at the Dojima residence. A couple of stools sat on one side of the island, and the kitchen seemed relatively clean; almost new, even. It appeared that Naoto didn't cook all that often.

A small table sat in the room in front of the kitchen, a couch and a reclining chair had their backs to the entrance, facing the opposite wall. A small T.V stand sat on the wall facing the couch, with a small T.V on it. A couple of Tatami mats sat around the table, and Souji noticed a small pink phone with many straps sat on it; Rise's phone. Next to the reclining chair, against the wall, was a large bookshelf, filled to the brim with many books of varying sizes and bindings, some leather-bound while others were bound in the more recent cloth and paper bindings; Naoto appeared to be a voracious reader. A hallway branched off on the right hand side of the entryway, presumably containing the entrance to Naoto's room and the bathroom. The house also smelled of fresh linen, and seemed very comfortable despite its lack of decorative furnishings.

Souji turned his attention to Naoto herself, who was sitting down in the chair, eyes closed. She was wearing her usual attire, a white collared shirt and dark jeans. The tie she normally wore was missing, and she had removed her shoes by the entrance, as was normal. Her cap was sitting on the table in the entryway, next to the food Naoto had set down. Her hair was a tad messy; she'd probably been falling asleep before Souji'd arrived.

Souji made for the kitchen, looking through the cabinets for utensils and a small bowl to portion the rather large amount of food Aiya's owner had given him into. Finding what he was looking for, he scooped some of the rice and beef into the smaller bowl, grabbing a pair of chopsticks he had found in one of the drawers by the sink. He brought it over to Naoto, who stirred at the smell of the food nearby. "Mmm?" she murmured, opening her eyes as Souji set the bowl down on the table in front of her.

"Do you have anything specific you'd like to drink, Naoto?" Souji asked, seeking to help ease Naoto's discomfort.

"Just some water, if you wouldn't mind" she said quietly, rising a bit to get out of the chair, then walking over to the table to sit down and eat. Souji nodded, heading back to the kitchen to search the fridge for what Naoto had asked for.

He came back over and set the water down next to Naoto, who was eating the food a bit faster than he'd expected, watching as he saw some color and light to the sleuth's grey-blue eyes. Souji sat down, tapping his pockets absent-mindedly when he felt the card in his pocket. He fished it out, looking at it once more before getting Naoto's attention. "Ah…Naoto, I was asked to deliver this to you." said the silverette, handing the card to the young girl, who was wiping her mouth with a napkin Souji had thoughtfully provided. Naoto looked at the card as she took it, flipping it over.

"What sort of person gave this to you?" she asked, looking at Souji inquisitively.

"A man with black sunglasses and a penchant for questions pertaining to forensic analysis." Souji said, smiling a bit as he thought back to a while ago. Naoto raised her eyebrows.

"Sunglasses…? Wearing those in a town like this would only make one stick out…" Naoto mused, looking back at the card, studying it in a new light. "What we can take from this is he wanted to hide his face at any cost." Naoto said, looking back to Souji who was nodding in agreement.

"Yes, but he didn't do horribly well. He hid his eyes more than anything, but his face was mostly uncovered, as was his head."

Naoto thought for a while, scanning the evidence at hand thoroughly in her mind.

"If the man sought you out to give this to me, it's safe to assume he knows you as well…I doubt he'd have entrusted the delivery to anyone he didn't know…" Souji agreed, thinking back to how the man had known Souji's relation with Naoto. Naoto shook her head. "But, in this small town, he could have easily looked up my address. Why go through the trouble of giving you the letter? Intriguing…" Naoto trailed off, a light beginning to shine in her eyes. "Is he involved with the case? Or is it another one altogether? If it's me he's after, he could be anyone." That thought disturbed Souji more than anything; it was highly possible the man could be the killer in their current case.

Naoto looked a bit frustrated, and then turned to Souji. "I'll keep the card. The man is most likely still here in Inaba. I cannot drag you any further into this."

Souji shook his head, and began to speak, cutting Naoto off as she began to insist. "I'm not backing out now. I'm interested in this, for multiple reasons, some of them personal. But mostly, I'm worried about you."

Naoto looked surprised. "Err, well… It's good to know that you're worried about me, but…" She averted her gaze from Souji's. "I'm sorry; I seem to have a tin ear for other people's feelings. Rise told me earlier." She looked back at Souji, a hint of gratitude in her eyes. "I'll look into this, and report my findings to you as I learn of them. So…don't worry about me."

Souji shook his head again, smiling gently. "I'm afraid you're a little late for that, especially after yesterday."

Naoto blushed, remembering the aftermath of the battle with her Shadow. "I…err. Well, yes, I suppose it is…" she shook her head, trying to rid herself of her embarrassment. "As our leader, I know that you have a lot on your shoulders, so…" Naoto fidgeted, worried about Souji as much as Souji was about her, but the silverette didn't notice the movement, and was instead looking at the card.

Suddenly, the teen stood up, checking his watch. "Dammit, is that the time?! Dojima's gonna have my hide if I don't get back."

Naoto looked up, surprised. "Ah, right. I'm sorry to have kept you, Senpai" she said as she rose to walk the teen to the door.

Souji gave her a quick grin. "Don't worry about it, he's probably not going to be home for a while yet anyways.

Naoto shook her head. "Regardless, it was rude of me to have kept you so long." She looked down, a small blush rising to her face; the sleuth was unused to having company, or engaging in social interactions that didn't have to deal with her regular business. "Ahh…thank you for helping me, Senpai" she said, embarrassed.

Souji turned, reaching out to pat her head gently, smiling as he did so; Naoto jumped at the unexpected touch. "It's not a problem, Naoto. Let me know whenever you need anything. I want you to recover well." He smiled as he left Naoto's house, leaving Naoto staring at the door in surprise.


	22. As Fortune Would Have It

So, yeah...I decided to post the entire link in one chapter...I couldn't help myself. Anyways, enjoy.

* * *

 _Wednesday, October 5_ _th_

Souji was thinking, looking at the card sitting on the table. Naoto'd finally felt well enough to come out, and the first thing she had done was to text Souji to meet her at the flood plains. They were sitting at the pavilion near the hill; Naoto had just explained some things about the card. "I'd chalk it up as a prank." She said as she finished, looking entirely unamused.

"Well, that's no fun" Souji said, looking at the young detective, a bit put out.

Naoto laughed. "One _would_ expect there to be more" she said, smiling widely. A ringing broke through the air suddenly, and Naoto reached into her pocket, pulling out her phone. "Ah, excuse me, Senpai." She said, apologizing. "Yes, it's me" she said; she apparently knew the caller.

"Ahh, Yakushiji-san, what's the matter?" Naoto looked surprised all of a sudden. "A thief!? In the Shirogane estate? Yes…yes…I see. I don't keep anything in that room I'd miss terribly" Souji looked at his friend with concern, but confusion at what she'd just said gave him pause; what kind of thief would break into the estate of a family of detectives. "…I'll leave the rest to you…I can't take my eyes off this case yet." Naoto hung up.

"What happened? I heard something about a thief."

Naoto looked up surprised, as if she'd forgotten that Souji was there. "Oh…sorry. You heard, didn't you…?" Naoto shifted uncomfortably; the seriousness of this matter appeared to be causing concern for her.

 _"At the same time, she probably doesn't want to leave, given that the case here is now, unofficially, re-opened."_ Souji shook his head. "Naoto, do you need to go back? This seems a bit serious."

Naoto shook her head. "It seems the Shirogane estate was broken into. No one was harmed, but a few items from Grampa's inventory were stolen, and my room was targeted. However, I can't leave this case behind; to do so would dishonor the Shirogane name." Naoto looked unconvinced of that last bit. "However…to leave this theft alone…"

Souji sat up a little straighter. "Naoto, the card. I'd bet this theft and the card you got are related."

Naoto nodded. "My thoughts exactly. But don't worry about me. Whatever this is, we have more pressing matters to attend to."

Souji shook his head, sighing exasperatedly. "Naoto, I already told you, it's a little late to tell me to not worry about you. And now someone's broken into your family's home. This counts as a pressing matter, and matters that revolve around your _safety_ are paramount to the current investigation. We don't have any leads as of yet anyways." Souji stressed the word safety a bit, as if to remind her of his words that day in the T.V.

Naoto blushed and looked at the ground, mumbling "I'm not sure how to react to you…err…worrying about me…"

Souji smiled gently. "Just take it as a complement that I care about your well-being, Naoto."

Souji stood up, Naoto rising with him, picking up the card from the table as she did so. "Well, there's nothing to be gained from this at the moment. I should return home. Thank you, Senpai."

Souji shook his head again. "You're not getting out that easily, Shirogane." He said, the use of Naoto's last name stopping her from moving. "I'm escorting you home, and that's that. No ifs, ands, or buts." Naoto tried to argue, but Souji held up a hand. "Not only would Rise kill me, seeing as how you only just recovered, but I'm worried about you. I told you before, think about your friend's feelings. We actually do care about you, Naoto." The silverette walked over to Naoto's side, and the detective looked down, somewhat annoyed. "Now, shall we?" he said, gesturing towards the residential area with his hand. Naoto nodded sharply and began walking, Souji walking swiftly next to her so as not to fall behind.

* * *

" _I wonder how she's feeling. It seems as if everyone at school watched her version of the Midnight Channel."_ Souji thought as he walked down the stairs at Yasogami. He'd just finished beating "The riddle-master" (a horrible title; his riddles were extremely easy.) and was about to head home alone; Yu had planned a date with Rise. He bumped into Naoto at the lockers. The sleuth had been looking at a card in her hand and hadn't been looking where she was going.

"Ow-Oh! Senpai! I'm terribly sorry."

Souji shook his head, clearing the stars he was seeing; Naoto could inflict some heavy pain when she wasn't paying attention. "What's that? Another card?" Souji asked, eyeing the card in Naoto's hand.

The sleuth shook her head, sighing. "Alas, no. It appears to be a love letter, based on the scrawling and the fact that the sender has used their name." Souji nodded, noting that the sender was female as he read the script on the card.

"Well, what do you plan on doing with such a…uhh…confession?" Souji asked, shifting a bit on his feet as he took up his habitual stance once again.

Naoto shook her head, facing Souji and placing her right hand on her waist, as she was wont to do as she stood. "I shall go home and feed this to the shredder." The sleuth sighed. "How misleading…a sealed letter at a time like this…" Souji's eyebrows raised, but he held his tongue. Naoto sighed again as she continued.

"Romantic entanglements aren't worth my time. Whether the sender is male or female, I have no intention of responding." Naoto's face began to take on a look of annoyance that increased as she spoke again. "I have no time to be dilly-dallying with callow love affairs. Saying they love me without even knowing me…ludicrous. I assume you feel the same, Senpai?"

Souji shook his head, laughing. "I think, Naoto, that you might need to relax a bit. Come on, it's raining. Let me walk you home." Souji's silver eyes gleamed as he spoke.

Naoto nodded, smiling lightly. "Yes. Would you like to stop somewhere on the way? I'd like to ask some things about the case." Souji nodded, and the two walked out under Souji's umbrella, headed towards the bookstore.

* * *

Souji was looking over Naoto's shoulder the next day after school. The two were by the detective's locker, and were looking at the card in her hand. It was the same as the one they'd received last time. "Let's head to the flood plain. This should be kept quiet." Souji said, and Naoto nodded.

"I was thinking much the same thing."

The two walked over to the floodplain in silence as Naoto continued to study the card, Souji every now and then glancing at her to make sure she was still there. They reached the pavilion they normally sat at, and sat down across from one another to make talking easier. The card had writing on it, but Souji hadn't been able to read it as they'd walked. He read it now, hands tensing as he did so.

The card was apparently a challenge, sent from someone calling themselves "The Phantom Thief", claiming they'd stolen Naoto's prized possessions. "I'll send this to Yakushiji-san to turn into the police for evidence. The Phantom Thief? How absurd…I haven't the time to waste on this" Naoto spoke as if she were upset, but the gleam in her eyes and fidgeting of her hands on the table led Souji to believe she felt otherwise.

"It's true we don't have a whole lot of time…" Souji mused, looking at Naoto with a glint in his own silver eyes.

"Exactly. We're dealing with a matter that has claimed lives; the stakes are entirely different." Naoto nodded as she looked at Souji. "In contrast, we have a petty prankster guilty of mere housebreaking, theft, and inscrutable threats."

Souji nodded. "Keep in mind, Naoto, that in a sense, whomever we're chasing is also guilty of the very same crimes."

Naoto looked up, surprised. "Well…I guess that's true, in a sense." The young sleuth looked torn as she thought about it. She shook her head. "Why is it with you, I always lose my composure? I don't want to get involved in this sort of childish game. But…to ignore it only makes me angry!" Naoto was struggling not to lash out, and her hand was twitching near her concealed revolver. Souji quickly tried to distract her from pulling it out at the plains, as people nearby would become immediately scared.

"Let's catch him together!" he said, hoping that anything he said might snap her out of her reverie.

Naoto nodded, cooling down as she agreed. "Of course, you're the one who brought this to my attention." Naoto looked away, blushing. "Let's work together on this…" she said quietly, and Souji felt his heart flutter. He felt confused as it did so though; what about that had made him feel that way? The silverette shook his head as Naoto turned back. "Let's reexamine the first case. There must be some similarities here." Souji nodded, and the two began talking animatedly, discussing the facts they'd come across previously. Souji saw Nanako approaching off in the distance.

* * *

Souji found himself somewhat dazed. They were standing at the mailbox in the shopping district, having figured out that the first card had been written in invisible ink (thanks to some help from Nanako.) The two had immediately rushed home to heat the card, exposing the hidden message as the citrus juice burned off. It had been a riddle, with the answer being the mailbox. Souji had figured it out the second he'd looked at it; the same riddle was in his book upstairs.

"This…why did Grampa keep this?" Naoto looked at the object held in her hands, a look of confusion on her features.

"Good, you got it back." Souji nodded, happy to have helped in some small way.

"Huh? O-oh, yes…" Naoto turned to look at Souji, blushing. She explained that the object was a detective badge, a custom one she had made herself many years ago. Naoto pocketed the item, looking at Souji. "I have an idea as to who the Phantom Thief might be, but none as to his motive." Naoto shifted on her feet. "This case…is important to me. Without you and Nanako-chan, I'd never have cracked it. Or rather…I'd never have bothered."

Souji shook his head. "We just gave you a push, that's all. I think Nanako was even more help than I've been." Souji smiled as he thought about his little cousin.

Naoto shifted again. "I want to continue this case….and…erm…if possible…" Naoto looked at Souji uncomfortably.

"Let's do it!" Souji said, feeling a tad euphoric as he looked at Naoto. The sleuth looked shocked, but thankful as she thanked Souji for agreeing to help her.

* * *

The end of October had come and passed, and Souji looked at the calendar. Midterms were coming up. Over the past couple of weeks, Souji had been helping Naoto with their side-case, and had found more items that the Phantom Thief had stolen; a watch with a strong backlight and a pen with a flashlight and miniature telescope. Souji had also found out more about Naoto; the sleuth liked high places, hated throwing things away, and had preferred robots and cars to play with when she was younger. When Naoto had expressed a desire to have been born a boy, Souji had found himself saying that he was glad Naoto was a girl. The sleuth had blushed quite a bit at that, and Souji had stunned himself; why would he have said that?

Thinking on it now, Souji still didn't have an answer for himself. Yu had smiled and shaken his head when Souji had told him about it. "You'll find out soon enough, bro" was all he'd said. Souji's twin was at Junes today, helping out around the store as usual.

At their last meeting, Naoto had asked Souji about himself, and the silverette had complied, telling Naoto about his and Yu's childhood, fending for themselves since they were very young as their parents were rarely home, or weren't very involved whenever they were. He told her about constantly moving around, being dropped off at the homes of friends or other family; Dojima was the first member they'd stayed with that was of direct relation to the twins. Naoto had listened intently, and had thanked him for opening up to her.

As he thought about the sleuth, Souji's phone buzzed, a small ringing telling him he'd received another text. He flipped it open, and hurried to get downstairs and out of the house. Naoto had asked him to meet her at the shopping district near Aiya's.

He arrived there quickly, greeting the young sleuth as he approached. The two went straight into business. "The man that you described has been seen around this area recently. The owner of Shiroku saw him only a few hours ago."

Souji nodded, thinking quickly. "He's probably still around…and if he's around, he'll be looking for a place to hide another item, I'll bet." The youth mused.

Naoto nodded. "Exactly, and I have a good idea where he'll be. Follow me." The sleuth turned and began walking towards the shrine. Souji followed her up the steps to the shrine, waving a hello as he saw Fox hiding nearby. The two stopped a few feet from the main building, looking around. "He should be around here somewhere, assuming my deductions were correct…" Naoto mumbled. The two saw a man standing near the offering box.

"That's him." Souji said, and the two ran over to confront the man.

Naoto gasped in surprise. "You're…" she tried to speak more, but no words came out.

The man turned around quickly, and pulled a knife out from his coat, brandishing it in front of him. Souji reacted without thinking, a blind fear taking hold of him. He put himself between the man and Naoto, earning a surprised yelp from the young sleuth. "Senpai?! There's no need to worry, it's just a toy!" He stayed silent as he glared daggers at the man, who seemed frightened by the silverettes display and ran off, dropping the knife.

Souji stepped aside as the man ran off, looking at Naoto in surprise. "A toy?" he asked, confused. Naoto walked over and picked the knife up.

"It's one of the Tools I made. It's a knife-shaped radio. As I said, it's just a toy." Naoto pulled the knife's edge back, revealing it to be made of rubber as it bent easily. Naoto balled her fists as Souji stared dumbfounded.

"Wha-?" he began, but was cut short as Naoto reached up and tore off her cap, holding it firmly in her hand as she yelled at Souji.

"But...Even so, what you did…What if that knife had been real?! You would've been in grave danger." Naoto fumed at the teen, picking up some steam as she continued. "Wasn't it you who told me not to throw myself into harm's way?! You berated me for doing the very thing you yourself just did! And according to Yu-senpai, you had spent hours tirading in your house after seeing me on the Midnight channel! Did _you_ stop to think what could've happened, or how we'd have felt if you'd been hurt? Or how I would have felt?!" Naoto shook her head, blushing a bit as she finished her last sentence. "Rrrgh! You're always like this! I can't imagine becoming a woman only to have a man protect me! And yet…you always…" Naoto looked down, feeling her eyes sting. The young detective shook as she fought to hold back her emotions. "Why...!?" she asked quietly. "Why would you do this for me?"

Souji stood, mouth struggling to work. He had no clue why he'd just thrown himself in front of Naoto. Hell, he had no clue why every time he'd been around the young sleuth recently, he'd felt as if his heart was going to burst. Souji struggled to speak. "I…I…" Suddenly, everything clicked in Souji's head. He thought back to the fireworks festival, when Dojima had offered him guidance as Souji looked at his brother and best friend with their girlfriends. He thought back to the police station when Naoto had asked him to help her interrogate Mitsuo, though he hadn't yet known she was a girl. He thought back to the feeling in his heart when Naoto had asked him to help her with this case, and how he'd agreed on the spot. He thought back to his ranting when he'd seen her on the Midnight Channel. Most importantly, he thought back to the battle with her shadow, when he'd singlehandedly taken on the monster hiding within the young detective alone, seeking to crush whatever it was hurting his friend. He looked up at the young girl, who was looking at him expectantly.

"Because…I love you…" Souji said. Naoto's eye's widened, all threats of tears blinked away suddenly as she registered what she'd just heard.

"Wha….Huh?..." She looked away, blushing furiously. "Er, u-ummmm…W-Wait a moment. I thought you just said something serious."

Souji nodded. "I did…" he said quietly. The way he felt, he knew it wasn't a joke. It wasn't some fleeting passion; if it had, he'd have gone after the other girls he'd met along the way without a thought. Yet he hadn't. None of the women he'd met had ever attracted him; not Sayako, who'd thrown herself at the teen relentlessly; Not Chie or Yukiko, two very beautiful girls in his own class; not Rise, the idol of many people's hearts, none more so than Souji's own brother; and not even Marie, a beautiful young girl who'd lost all memories of herself. These women had been around him constantly, yet he'd never once felt even a twinge of what he felt now about Naoto.

The young detective blushed again and tried to look at Souji, but had to avert her face as she could only stammer. "N-Now that you've said such a thing, I can't even look you in the eye…" she muttered, pulling her cap down as she ducked her head, trying to hide her face. Any other person might have taken Naoto's actions to be a rejection of some kind, but Souji knew better. Of all the people in his life, excluding Yu, Naoto was the closest to his heart.

"I-I'm going home." Naoto said suddenly. Souji nodded, unable to help the ache in his heart as she said so. "Umm…you needn't worry about the Phantom Thief anymore…so…err…G-Goodbye!" Naoto ran out of the shrine, leaving Souji standing by the offering box.

The silverette raised his head to the sky, taking in a deep breath as he did so. The Fox came up to his legs, holding another ema. Souji looked down, reaching out to hold the ema in his hands. He recognized it as the wish he'd written back at the Dojima household after the fireworks show.

"I wish I had a girlfriend."

"How did you get this?" he murmured, but the Fox was gone, heading back to wherever it was he stayed around the Shrine.

* * *

Naoto and Souji stood at the top of the hill in town. Naoto had asked him to come with her after school, looking at the ground embarrassedly the entire time. When they'd gotten to the flood plains, they found the man from the day before standing there. Naoto introduced him as the Phantom Thief, who happened to be her grandfather's secretary, Yakushiji. The secretary apologized to Souji, explaining that the elder Shirogane had become crestfallen after seeing Naoto's almost manic fervor in regards to her cases as of late, and had tasked Yakushiji with hiding the items from Naoto's past, creating an elaborate game so as to remind his granddaughter of the feelings she'd had when she had started out wanting to become a detective.

Naoto admitted that she had forgotten that she had only desired to solve mysteries and help people; that the thought of her gender and age had never posed a problem for her young mind. Yakushiji then handed Souji another card, stating that there was one last item to find, and then left towards the train station, intent on returning to the Shirogane Estate. The cards riddle had stated "I did what you can't stand at a place you'd be fond of. Souji had quickly figured it out, surprising Naoto with his memory of the facts that she loved high places and hated throwing things away.

Souji now looked as Naoto gazed at the last of the Seven Tools. "This is the Detective's Pocketbook…all the things I had forgotten about are packed in here." She opened the book, gazing at the scrawling's she had written in as a child, handwriting as neat as it was today. The two sat on a bench at the nearby pavilion. Naoto explained how she had felt about the case, her hidden desires and all of her feelings in regards to herself spilling out. Souji sat silently, allowing Naoto to empty herself of the pain she still felt.

When she finished, she looked at Souji, blushing. "When I'm with you…I become scared..." She started. "…afraid that the instant I admit the truth, everything will come spilling out. But…I need to say it…my true feelings." Souji felt his heart leap into his throat. Naoto looked at him, eyes shining as tears threatened to fall.

"I love you."

Souji felt as him the world around him had come spinning to a stop, focusing only on the two of them. His heart was heavy, not from pain or sadness, but rather from the intense joy he felt, the ache of finally having found the person that made him feel everything and nothing all at once throbbing softly and warmly in his chest. "I'm so embarrassed…I feel like I could die…" Naoto murmured. Souji smiled and reached out, pulling the detective into a tight embrace.

"I know." He said as she wrapped her arms around him after a moment of surprise.

* * *

Souji and Naoto had remained at the hill for a time before Naoto had asked Souji something; she wanted to see his room. So there they stood, Naoto gazing around the twins room, taking in the twins interests. "I see furnishings here and there that don't match your tastes" she said, looking at the model robots on the shelf. Souji nodded, smiling gently. "I prefer the scooters; Yu loves robots." Naoto nodded, smiling as she continued her observation of the room. Souji gazed at her as she looked at the T.V, theorizing where he stood whenever he watched the Midnight Channel.

"Why don't you come sit down?" he asked, gesturing to the empty spot on the couch next to him. Naoto turned around, blushing as she did so. She stammered about it being a bit close, and then apologized for the abrupt request. "I don't mind if it's you, Naoto." Souji said, earning another flushed face as he felt his own cheeks flush.

"Er…I wanted to give you something…" Naoto said, and walked over. She handed Souji a dark blue box.

Inside was a detective's badge, handcrafted and decorated with great care. The nameplate read "Detective S. Seta." and had an image of the Fool and Fortune arcana's on an emblem in the middle. Turning it over, he saw Naoto had left a small inscription on the back, signing her name beside it. "I knew how I felt about you for a long time; since our first meeting at the textile shop. I was afraid at first, but you've shown me how to grow into myself, and you accepted me despite the fact that I did not. I love you." Souji looked up at Naoto, eyes watering as he thanked her for the gift.

"I…made myself one to match. They flash…" she said, blushing as she showed Souji an identical badge, presumably with it's own inscription on the back. An image flashed above them, and both teens felt a shift in the air around them. Sukuna-Hikona, like the personas of the others, had grown into a new being. "Yamato-Takeru" Naoto said, feeling the change in her heart. The sleuth blushed. "Y-You're quite close…" she said, but smiled as Souji wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close to him. Naoto smiled, nuzzling a bit into his side as they sat back, relaxed and happy in each other's company. "I love you…" she whispered.

Souji smiled, and squeezed her gently, and thought he heard a soft purr come from the girl sitting beside him.

"I love you, too." Souji said quietly.


	23. From The Ruins of Disaster

The twins stared hard at the screen of their T.V, trying to make out the figure on it, but shook their heads as they couldn't discern anything from the fuzzy image. "Damn, so someone else is going to get thrown into the T.V?" Yu asked, rubbing his eyes.

Souji yawned, nodding his head. "Seems that way. Let's call Yosuke, maybe he saw a better image."

Yu nodded, and grabbed his phone to call the brunette. "Yo, did you guys see anything?" the teen asked as he answered. The twins told him about the image they'd seen, asking if the Junes prince had seen anything different. "

No, my image was extremely blurry; I couldn't tell a damn thing about it."

The teens all sighed, feeling the weight from this latest development fall. "Let's meet up at the usual spot tomorrow." Yosuke said. The twins agreed, and bid their friend goodnight. They settled down into their futons after switching off the lights, and fell asleep quickly.

* * *

Souji was dreaming again. He was sitting in darkness atop some sort of platform. He looked around, silver eyes trying to pierce the gloom. He stood up, hoping that something might seem clearer. Slowly, he took a step forward, then recoiled as the darkness covering the platform he was standing on streaked away from the teen. Looking down, he saw that he was on a large circular platform, colored blue and gold. Images of his friends, his family, and himself were all around, appearing as flat images on the floor.

"What the…?" Souji began, but stopped as he heard a deep, almost familiar voice.

"The time nears…soon; your payment to me will be due. The decision you will make will determine the final cost from you. Whatever will you do?" The voice didn't sound malevolent, nor did it seem dangerous. It was almost comforting, sounding very smooth and soft. Souji tried to speak, to ask the voice what it meant, but found that his voice wouldn't work. Suddenly, a dark void appeared around his feet, slowly pulling him into it. Souji began to panic, and reached out to grasp anything that might prevent his slow descent.

"Don't be afraid." He heard the voice speak again. "And don't forget; thou art the one who shall open the door." Souji's eyes widened as the darkness enveloped his head, and suddenly, all went black.

* * *

Souji woke up in a cold sweat with a gasp. Yu shuffled in his sleep, shifting a bit as he subconsciously heard the noise from Souji, but otherwise remained asleep. Souji turned to look at his clock; it read 2:30 A.M. He shook his head irritably; he couldn't quite remember what he'd been dreaming about that had woken him up so suddenly, but it had disrupted the teen's precious sleep. He laid back down and closed his eyes, and was soon drifting back into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

The team sat at the food court after school, discussing the Midnight Channel from the previous night. Souji fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat, feeling a disturbing chill run up his spine. Naoto, sitting next to him, noticed this and placed a concerned hand on her boyfriend's leg underneath the table, and felt her face flush slightly as Souji reached down and gave her hand a squeeze, a silent thank-you for the comforting touch. The two had decided to not reveal their new relationship to the group just yet, as neither really knew how to talk about it, and Naoto felt uncomfortable with the idea of "public affection". This didn't stop subtle expressions, such as the one occurring now, from happening occasionally.

"From what I saw...wasn't the person on TV last night pretty small?" Teddie piped up, looking concerned.

"I dunno...It was too blurry to make out any details, including how tall or short they were. It was probably just a dream or your imagination. Either way, though, did you sense anyone in that world?" Chie looked at the bear questioningly.

"Nope. No one's come so far."

Rise shook her head, leaning against Yu as she did so. "Then we might have to wait one more night and see..." she said worriedly, earning a quick squeeze from the silverette as he attempted to comfort the idol.

Yosuke nodded his head. "Yeah, I guess so...Good thing it looks like the rain'll keep up all night. Don't forget to check again later on." The team nodded, and began discussing the day they'd had at school with each other.

* * *

Souji paced in the small room. Yu sat at the table, head down as he tried to relax. The twins had gotten a letter, unsigned, just like a letter they had received in October. Dojima had given it to Souji, who had opened it to reveal another warning, this one much darker than the last. Dojima had become upset, demanding answers. The twins had told him everything, but Dojima had refused to believe them. After telling Nanako not to worry, he'd hauled the boys to the Station.

The police had looked at them questioningly as Souji and Yu were brought in, and Dojima had grabbed Adachi and pulled him and the twins into an interrogation room. Once again, the twins were questioned about the truth, and once again they told their uncle everything. Dojima had sighed. "I guess half a year wasn't long enough for you to trust me like your old man...But I hoped you'd open up to me a little… It's a shame." Souji had leapt up.

"Our old man!? You think I trust you less than him of all people?!" Souji stared hard at his uncle and began yelling again. "Of course I trust you more than him! I trust you more than my mother! You are the only family we have that's ever showed even the slightest bit of interest in us! Our parents are never home! And when they are, they ignore us in favour of their work! Our entire lives have been a chain of hopping from one place to another; and you and Nanako are the only ones we've ever grown close to! Why the hell wouldn't we trust you?! What we just told you was no lie, but it's definitely hard to believe unless you see it for yourself!"

Souji had begun walking toward the T.V when Yu had grabbed him from behind, pulling him into the chair next to him. Dojima looked had looked worn and upset, and told the twins that they'd be staying at the station for the night. Adachi had comforted them slightly, and then left to stand just outside the room.

"What are we gonna do?" Yu asked, looking up at his brother.

Souji shook his head and sat down, placing his head in his hands. "I…don't know…." was all he could say.

* * *

Teddie was talking to Nanako on the phone, instinctually comforting the young girl after Yosuke had called her.

"…Weird letter….?" Yosuke murmured as Teddie hung up. His eyes widened as realization struck him. "Wait, was it a second warning letter!? Did he get a second one!? And Dojima-san saw that, so...he took him to the station? Teddie, gimme the phone back! I need to call the others!" The brunette snatched his phone from the blonde youth and called the group all at once.

* * *

"You've got to let us out! Adachi! Let us out, now!"

Yu was pounding on the door, screaming to be heard. Souji was looking around the room, hoping to see anything that might help them escape, but saw nothing. He closed his eyes as his face contorted in pain; that had been Nanako's figure on the Midnight Channel. Yu stepped back and sat on the bed nearby, crying and shuddering. Souji sat next to him and hugged his brother close, feeling his own eyes stinging as tears streamed down his face. They sat in silence, listening only to the patter of rain and Yu's quiet sobs.

A commotion outside brought them out of their silence. Dojima was yelling something, and suddenly the door to the room was thrown open as Yosuke, Teddie, and Kanji ran in. "Nanako-chan's missing!" said Yosuke, looking at the twins.

"Wha-!? What do you mean!?" Dojima stood in the doorway, surprise.

"Naoto's on the phone, calling from Nanako-chan's...I mean, your house." Yosuke said, and handed Dojima his cell. Dojima held it up and demanded an answer from the sleuth on the other end.

"Shirogane!? You there? What the hell's going on!?"

"I'm at your house right now. The front door's open and there's no one inside...I'm afraid that Nanako-chan has been kidnapped by our serial killer. Surely you must've known, Dojima-san!? The case isn't over yet!"

Dojima looked pained, and threw the brunettes phone down as he pulled his own phone out to call Nanako's phone, but the number had been disconnected. He stalked over to the local receiver, and began stationing men to blockade the highways and town exits, yelling impatiently as they questioned his actions. Adachi tried to stop him, but was pushed out of the way as Dojima moved past him to his car. Adachi came back into the room, worrying about his boss. The door was thrown open yet again, startling the worried detective as the rest of the team ran in; Naoto and Rise moving to their boyfriend's sides while Chie and Yukiko questioned the others.

"What's going on?" Chie asked. The team updated the girls on the situation, and made to leave.

Adachi blocked their way. "If I let you guys go, Dojima will kill me. Besides, I don't even understand what all is going on!"

Naoto nodded. "Ah, so you agree to release them once we explain the situation? Very well, then." Adachi stuttered, but Naoto cut him off.

"In any case, if we run out blindly, we'll have no idea where to begin. Let's all take a moment to stop and sort out the situation. Perhaps this will help Adachi-san understand as well. There's no doubt in my mind that this is a kidnapping by the same culprit who was behind the others. Now. Consider that the front door at Nanako-chan's house was open. I examined it, and found no trace that entry had been forced..." The team began discussing possibilities and similarities. "We know for certain that the culprit must be using a large-screen TV." Naoto said.

Adachi shook his head. "Huh...? TV? What?" he stammered. Yosuke nodded his head. Naoto continued on, following her logic to the end.

"Each victim was taken at a different scene, yet was thrown into a TV almost immediately after being kidnapped...I would go as far as to say that it took place in front of their houses…Therefore, the culprit must be taking a TV with him as he goes."

Souji stood up, nodding as he brought himself out of his misery. "He'd have to be using a large vehicle, but no one in town's ever reported any suspicious vehicles in town at all. He's using a car that no one would notice, then."

The team pondered this silently. "So it's someone Nanako-chan knows, who has a car...But it's a car that can't be seen?" Rise murmured, thinking hard.

"I think we can rule out the possibility that no one happened to see the vehicle...Especially since it's happened so many times now." Yukiko said, shaking her head a bit as she did so.

"A car no one would notice...? Is there such a thing? What would it be...?" Chie fidgeted slightly, worry on her face.

Yu looked up suddenly, staring at his brother intently. Souji had turned to look at him at the same time, and the twins spoke silently, reaching the same conclusion. "A moving truck." they said, and the team turned to look at them.

"That's right...Now I remember... A delivery came! It was a delivery truck!" Kanji swore as he remembered what had happened to him.

Rise nodded. "No one looks twice at a delivery truck, no matter where it's parked..." she said.

"And if it were a local company, it'd be the same deliveryman every time so he's not a "stranger" to Nanako-chan…" Naoto was thinking fast now. "She must've received packages from him during the times she was home alone, meaning we wouldn't know his face... Adachi-san! Is there anyone who fits this profile!?"

The sleuth turned to Adachi, who was startled at the sudden question. "A profile formed by a bunch of kids talking it over...? Let's see...A delivery company, huh? I dunno, take it from a detective...I think this is gonna be...a lot more difficult than—" he paused as he looked down the list of suspects he'd pulled out. "Hey...! Maybe you're not too far off base...Dojima-san put this stuff together to reinvestigate the first case-the murder of that announcer. And there's a deliveryman mentioned right here...I better go tell Dojima-san!"

Adachi ran off to call Dojima, running out the door to his car as he did so. The team looked at the list he'd left behind, and found the name of the culprit. "Taro Namatame!" Naoto said, a look of disgust crossing her face. Adachi came back, and the team begged him to allow the twins to leave.

Adachi looked at the ground, turning around to the door again as he did so. "...If there's been a break in the case, I'd better hurry to the scene. I'll just have to hope nothing happens here while I'm gone...I didn't see anything." The detective hurried out to his readied car and drove off, siren wailing. The twins silently thanked Adachi for his decision, and the team ran off to find Namatame and, hopefully, Nanako.


	24. The Price of Power

Hello everyone! Sorry for the wait, but I was having trouble figuring out how I wanted this written. This is the 5th or 6th rendition of this chapter in the past few days, and probably the 20th or 25th overall since my last post. I hope it holds up to my previous chapters, and I hope you enjoy reading this. As always, feel free to post reviews with your thoughts on the subject, and I thank you once again for your time and support. Please enjoy!

* * *

Souji and Naoto stood at Dojima's bedside, looking sadly at the stricken man. After hearing the news about Taro Namatame, the detective had led a high speed chase after the former politician, Adachi having caught up towards the tail end of the chase in his own car. However, the panicked delivery man had thrown his emergency brake on in a moment of desperation, flipping his own truck over and causing Dojima to spin out and crash.

The investigation team had seen the trail of smoke in the sky, and had run towards the scene. Naoto had called the paramedics and searched Namatame's truck while the others stood around Dojima, fearing for his life. Naoto had come back with a journal belonging to Namatame, reading aloud the list of names inside, while Adachi nodded, claiming that was all the proof they'd need. Dojima stirred, bringing Souji back from his memories.

"Y-You guys…"

The detective coughed harshly, causing Souji to lean forward in concern. Naoto stood close by, face downcast as she struggled to maintain her composure. "Are you alright?" asked the young sleuth. Dojima grinned wryly, but the small effort caused him pain, and the smile disappeared as quickly as it had come.

"I must look like hell right now…" Dojima turned to Souji; the young boys' eyes were gleaming with tears as he looked at his uncle's face. "Nanako...She's...my reason for living...If I lose her...I might as well be dead..."

Souji shook his head. "Don't say that, Uncle Dojima. She needs you to be strong right now…"

Dojima shook his head at Souji's words. "But...She must be so scared right now...Waiting for someone to save her...And...here I am..." Dojima coughed with the effort of talking. "When she needs me most...I'm helpless...What kind of a father am I...? I can't even protect my own daughter...!"

Naoto looked at the elder detective with a pained look. "Dojima-san…" she murmured.

"If anything happens to Nanako...I'll make Namatame pay...!" He looked at Souji again. "You can save Nanako, right...? I trust you...Please...save her for me...! You're the only ones I can turn to right now..."

Souji nodded, taking Dojima's hand in his own. "I promise, we'll get Nanako back. It might take a while, but we'll get her back." He smiled lightly. "We all want to find her, but Yu's aiming to move heaven and earth to get her back. Nanako's going to be fine, okay? Trust us, and get some rest." Dojima nodded at the silverette's words, and leaned his head back as he drifted into unconsciousness once more.

Naoto and Souji began to leave the room, but an unexpected weight on Naoto's shoulder caused her to halt in her tracks. Souji was leaning heavily on her, suddenly finding that his legs were too weak to stand on their own. "If I hadn't been so pre-occupied…" he began, but a finger to his lips shushed him.

Naoto was looking at her boyfriend concernedly. "Now's not the time for that. We need to keep it together so we can find Nanako-chan." The young sleuth hugged Souji tightly, feeling the tears in her own eyes soak into his jacket. Souji leaned his head on hers for a few moments before the detective pulled herself away. She hardened her gaze as she met Souji's eyes. "We'll find Namatame, and rescue Nanako-chan. But we'll have to wait until Junes opens again, okay? Be strong for a while longer." Souji nodded at Naoto's words, feeling his determination harden again. "Come on, the others are waiting." Naoto led the way out of the hospital room, fists clenched at her side.

* * *

The Investigation Team stood still, gazing around at the scenery before them with a sense of awe. "It's so beautiful…like a storybook picture of heaven…" Rise murmured, and then put her hands to her mouth as she realized what she'd said. The group looked sullen.

"Heaven, huh? Deep down inside, Nanako-chan must really miss her…" Yosuke mumbled softly, and moved to Chie's side for some sense of comfort. Kanji shook his head and swore, looking down to hide his face. Yu swung his katana a few times before sheathing it, grasping the hilt tightly as he did so. Souji stood with his arms crossed, briefcase that still contained his Tonfa hanging from the strap on his shoulder; Teddie would take it and put it into his suit once he'd removed the weapons. The blonde youth would leave his suit, holding the containers for the teams weapons, here at the entrance; the shadows never bothered it. Naoto stood off to one side, polishing her revolver and checking to make sure that the mechanisms still functioned, and Yukiko stood near Yosuke and Chie, talking softly about the scenery around them.

Teddie approached the twins, looking at each boy briefly. "Is Nana-chan gonna be okay?" he asked.

The twins nodded firmly. "We'll get her out of here, Ted, don't worry." Souji looked at the bear warmly, forcing a smile as he did so to comfort his friend.

Yu spoke up. "Cheer up, man. How'd you think Nanako would feel if she saw us all moping like this?" The others all heard him, and looked towards the youth with a curious gaze. Souji nodded, genuinely smiling as he caught on to his brother's plan.

"Yeah, I don't think she'd be too happy with us if we showed up looking all sad. You know how she worries about us all the time." The silverette's chuckled as they thought back to the times they'd been out late working at the hospital, only to come home to a very upset Nanako silently waiting at the table in the Dojima's house. She'd chewed them out a few times when they'd failed to come home when they'd told her they would, and made them promise to keep a better track of time whenever possible. The twins had never come home late again.

Looking around now, Yu saw the teams faces brighten a bit. "This isn't any different from the last time we had to save someone. We all feel the same way, so let's put that feeling to use. Don't push ourselves further than our limits, make sure we pay attention at all times, and work together. We'll get Nanako out, no sweat!" The teens all nodded, feeling more unified than ever before. Nanako was responsible for bringing the team together often, and they'd all made promises to the young girl they'd come to adore.

"Alright, then what are we waiting for, dammit? Let's get in there, kick some Shadow ass, and save Nanako!" Kanji's words earned him a cheer of approval from his friends, and they all turned to look towards the gates of Heaven.

"Let's do this!" Souji said, and led the way into the bright world ahead, fixing his Tonfa to his arms and handing Teddie his briefcase.

* * *

The team paused for a moment. Rise had mentioned earlier that she'd felt someone else's presence in Nanako's world, but now they heard a voice speaking, Namatame's voice.

The man was speaking in crazed words, claiming he'd never let Nanako go, wishing he could live in this world with…someone…and causing worry for the team as a whole.

"Senpai, I can hear them really close by. Nanako-chan and Namatame are just up ahead!"

Yu nodded his thanks to Rise, and turned to slash at a shadow that had leaped out of nowhere, cutting it in two before it could react. "Come on, we're wasting time here" he said, and moved forward, his brother and the rest of the team following close behind.

* * *

The team stared in horror as Namatame's body convulsed harshly. They had arrived at the end of the road, and found Namatame holding Nanako close as he screamed at the team. Souji and Naoto had begun assaulting the crazed man with a barrage of questions, causing him to lower his guard. He'd claimed to have been saving people, and had greeted Yukiko, Kanji, Rise and Naoto as "the one's he'd saved." However, the drop in his guard had left him open, and Yosuke and Kanji wasted no time in tackling the delivery man, forcing him to release Nanako.

The young girl stumbled forward, falling into Yu's arms as she did so. Now, Namatame was changing, as shadows from all around "Heaven" began merging with the man. An explosion of darkness caused the team to cover their eyes, and Yu felt Nanako being removed from his grasp. The teen tried to scream, but choked as the darkness cleared away, and he saw what stood before him. A massive being floated in front of the team, wearing a white robe with the symbols for love and peace on its front. A large stylized red circle floated above its head, jagged points poking out from its edges. The figures body was black with red lines crossing it horizontally, and it held its hands out in peace signs as it looked at the teens.

The team looked around frantically for Nanako, and found her in one of the beings hands, hanging by her arms. "Nanako!" Yu yelled, summoning Izanagi. The tall Persona seemed uncharacteristically angry, and looked ready to fly at the being before them at a moment's notice.

"I am Kunino-sagiri!" The creature spoke with a twisted version of Namatame's own voice. "I…I'm going to save her! Don't interfere!"

The massive shadow swept its hand in front of him, buffeting the team with a large gust of wind. The teens summoned their Personas, looking on at their foe with a fierce look. "We've come this far! We're not losing now!" Yosuke yelled, and leaped forward alongside Yu. Izanagi and Susano-O flew forward as the teens moved. Izanagi slashed at the sagiri, but was knocked backwards with a swat of the beings hand. Susano-O danced around the shadow's attacks, casting its own wind forward, but stopped as one spell came close to hitting Nanako. Kunino-sagiri saw the opening, and threw his hand forward, casting a massive lightning spell at the hesitating Persona. The spell connected, and Susano-O was thrown back into Yosuke. Yu was on his knees, recovering from the blow that had hit Izanagi.

Chie and Yukiko had flanked the shadow as Yosuke and Yu began their attack, and were now attempting to harass the sagiri from behind. The shadow shook his head, as if annoyed, and spun around quickly as a light poured forth from the circle above its head. Chie fell backwards, a look of shock on her face. "Wha-?" she began, then gasped as she saw Yukiko cast Agidyne, and what should have been a massive eruption of flame appeared as a small ember on the large shadow. Kunino-sagiri laughed as Rise yelled.

"He's changed something! Some spells won't be effective now!"

Kanji swore. "Well, if spells ain't gonna work, then an old-fashioned beat-down should stop him!" Kanji ran forward, swinging his massive metal plate at the shadows feet while Rokuten Maoh swung his massive blade at its head. The blows connected, staggering the sagiri a bit. Kanji shoved his fist in the air at the small victory, but was thrown backwards as another blast of wind emanated from the sagiri's hands. Naoto and Souji moved forward to catch him, and ran forward with Teddie.

"Everyone, get up. Try attacking at once, get him distracted!" The others nodded at Souji's words, and began another assault. Kunino-sagiri began backing away, but an idea had formed in the shadow's head.

Grinning widely, it thrust the hand holding Nanako in front of him. The teens immediately halted, looking at their foe with seething hatred. "How dare you use Nanako-chan like a shield!" screamed Chie, but the brunette could only look on helplessly. The sagiri smiled again, and came down close to the ground, and waved his hands in a beckoning motion. The teens all felt a tugging, and began running towards the sagiri, lining up behind him. Yu and Souji managed to break free from the sensation before the others had moved, but now looked on in horror as they saw their friends and their Personas raise their weapons towards the twins.

"Gah….can't….stop!" Yosuke grunted, trying desperately to halt his hands. Chie and Yukiko were struggling themselves, alongside Kanji, Teddie, and Naoto.

Naoto's revolver came up and pointed straight at Souji. "I….I can't stop it…Senpai!" she yelled, feeling her trigger finger tighten. Souji and Yu looked at their friends, desperately trying to find some way to stop them. Even the Persona's seemed to be trying their hardest to keep from attacking the two boys. Despite their best efforts, however, the team couldn't stop themselves, and Kunino-sagiri laughed as he watched the silverette's try to defend themselves from the assault that had begun. Yamato-Takeru was casting Megidolaon while Kanji and Rokuten Maoh approached the twins, assaulting them with mighty swings from their weapons. Yosuke and Teddie unleashed a Junes Bomber on the twins while Chie and Yukiko cast a multitude of spells to attack their friends. The assault ended with the explosion of Naoto's Megidolaon, but their friends returned to Kunino-sagiri's side, and tried their best to resist the commands he issued.

Rise stood horrified off to one side, her lack of fighting abilities keeping her from being under the sagiri's control. Yu leaned on his katana, trying to stand upright while Souji fell to one knee. "We can't take another attack like that…" Yu gasped out, falling to his knees. He couldn't find the strength to stand anymore. Souji shook his head, desperately trying to find a solution, but could think of nothing.

"Maybe…" he began, but groaned as he heard the familiar sound of spells beginning to be cast. They were out of time.

Souji looked up, hoping to see his friend's faces one last time, and widened his eyes in shock. Everything appeared…frozen. No one was moving. Looking to his side, he saw Yu was frozen as well, not even breathing. "What the hell…?" Souji murmured, then gasped as he heard a voice speak in his head.

" _The time has come."_ Souji looked around, hearing the voice physically as well as mentally. The figure of Morpheus stood in front of him, robe billowing despite the lack of any wind. " _You must make your decision now. The final cost of my service will be determined by your choice."_ Souji's eyes widened. He suddenly remembered the dream he had had not long ago; the blue and gold platform, the images of his friends and family, the darkness that had swallowed him whole.

"What do you mean? What choice must I make?" Morpheus' shoulders shook, and Souji heard a deep chuckle come from his Persona.

 _"The choice is this, Souji Seta. Do you wish to save your friends? Or will you let yourselves all die, here and now?"_

Souji shook his head, standing as he did so. "Of course I want to save my friends. But what do you mean by cost?" Morpheus waved his hand, crossing them in front of his chest after he finished the movement.

 _"The cost will be of my choosing. Should you choose to save your friends, I will grant you more of my power to use, but you will…disappear."_ Souji shuddered, thinking of the implications this information held, and felt his skin break out in a cold sweat. _"Should you choose to die, I will take your existence. You will be forgotten by all who knew you, and your contract will be broken. Even the beings of The Velvet Room will forget you. Those are the prices for your decisions."_

Souji looked down, mind working rapidly. He didn't quite understand what exactly was going on, but letting shock take over would not help him at all. The silverette shook his head. "What do you mean, disappear? Isn't that the same as dying? Or non-existence?"

Morpheus nodded slowly. _"I'm afraid to try to explain the details of that cost would only cause more questions to form, rather than answer those that you have asked. I am nothing if not honest. I can only say this. To disappear now will indebt you to me. That is my goal with such a cost."_ Souji was taken aback. If he understood correctly, Morpheus had just said that he'd be indebted to his own Persona if he agreed to save his friends.

Morpheus held up a hand in a halting gesture. _"Truthfully, Souji Seta, I have come to admire you and your friends over the course of our…relationship. My powers come with a price, though, and I cannot renege on my own stipulations, despite my own thoughts. To do so would be to go against my nature. The power I can offer you here will save your friends and family, but the cost comes from you. You will disappear, as I will take you from this place."_ The Persona nodded his head. _"This is not death. I cannot say more at this juncture, but opportunities do arise from all choices. You will disappear, but whatever the future holds, it will be your decisions that make it unfold."_

Souji nodded grimly. He had an idea about what Morpheus was saying, and decided to throw caution to the wind. "Then I accept your terms. Allow me the power to save my friends and family."

Morpheus nodded firmly, then walked over to Souji. His voice came only from his physical form now; it was low and deep, comforting and disturbing all at once. "Then, Souji Seta, I allow you to draw upon more of my power. Let my dreams unfold upon the threat you face!"

Time began moving again, and Souji saw Yu continue his motion off to his side. Morpheus turned around to face the sagiri, who was looking triumphant. The Dream-lord removed the white staff from his back and held it in front of him, dreamcatcher swaying slightly as he did so. Souji felt himself begin to speak, but the voice that leapt forth was not his own, but the voice of Morpheus.

"Your dreams threaten the existence of the one who bears my favor. The reality you see before you is not the truth, but the illusion you've allowed yourself to believe. See now the dreams you ended with your actions!" White mist flowed forth from the staffs tip, and began to form seemingly random shapes to Souji's bewildered eyes. Kunino-sagiri seemed shocked however, and let his arms fall limply to his sides. The power over the Investigation Team that had controlled them disappeared, and they ran towards the two teens, apologizing and healing their wounds as best they could. Naoto looked at Souji, but he was focused only on the scene before him.

A woman with a red scarf appeared and disappeared quickly, a beautiful woman who appeared to be singing followed the image, dissipating as another image flashed into existence. The figure was small, and Souji recognized it as an image of Nanako. The sagiri looked horrified, and dropped the young girl as he stared at the images in the mist. Teddie didn't wait, and made a mad dash to reach Nanako in time. The blonde youth slid under the sagiri's hands just in time to catch the young girl, and immediately summoned Kintoki-Douji to his side to protect them from any possible repercussions. The action was unneeded, however, as the sagiri simply floated, looking positively stunned. Suddenly, the mist contorted violently, and Morpheus reached back to bring out the black staff from his right, and held it forward in place of the white one. The mist turned silver and purple, and Souji remembered the being from Kanji's bathhouse.

"Dreams exist in all forms. Let your darkest nightmares seep forth and claim you, as penance for your transgressions!"

A large, misty copy of the sagiri formed, purple and silver mist twisting and turning throughout the images' body. The figure reached out to touch Kunino-sagiri, who backed away quickly. However, the figure's reach didn't end with the length of its arms, and tendrils of mist shot forth, binding the sagiri tightly and hoisting him high above the teams' heads. The shocked teens could only stare as the mist began violently tearing at Kunino-sagiri's body, ripping away at the shadows making up its body. An ungodly scream rang forth from the sagiri as he fought against the extreme pain he felt.

Souji felt his lips twist in a smile, then shook his head as he regained some control of himself. "What are you doing?!" he yelled, looking at his Persona. Morpheus paid him no mind, and instead brought the two staves together under Kunino-sagiri. Souji spoke once more in Morpheus's voice, a voice he felt horrified to hear.

"I will not tolerate those who live in peaceful lies! They hold the most boring of dreams, and aspire to nothingness. You are no savior. You are best left to be forgotten, like a dream." Light began to glow from the staves, and Souji felt control over his body return. He leapt forward toward his Persona, realizing that Morpheus was about to erase Namatame from existence.

"No!" he screamed, and tore away at the Dream-lords weapons, attempting to halt whatever the Persona intended on doing. A gauntleted hand shoved him back, and Souji fell into the arms of Yu and Yosuke, who had snapped out of their shock at Souji's sudden movement.

Naoto and the rest of the team came running up to him, looking at Morpheus with a mixture of fear and awe. Morpheus' voice came forth from his own figure this time. "Well, it seems you are entwined in another fate." Morpheus nodded towards the investigation team. "I shall let those who you wronged exact their justice upon you. I have received my payment, anyways." The staves stopped glowing, and Morpheus returned the weapons to their resting place on his back. Kunino-sagiri fell as the mist released him, and the shadows immediately dissipated as he hit the floor, leaving an unconscious Namatame behind. Souji stood shakily, reaching into his pocket for the item he'd stored there earlier that day. Morpheus walked over, and stood a small distance away from the teen.

"My payment is due. Wish your comrades goodbye. I will allow this." The team turned to look at Souji, a question in their eyes.

The youth shook his head, and turned to Naoto. "I'm sorry. Take this. I made it in case…something happened today." He shoved an item into the sleuth's hands and stepped back. Yu reached out to grab his brother, sensing something very wrong, but fell forward as his hand grasped nothing. Souji's body was rapidly becoming incorporeal, and

Morpheus strode over, grabbing Souji's arm as he did so. "Since he did not, I shall bid you adieu in his place. Farewell, friends of Souji Seta." The Dream-lord and Souji disappeared suddenly, leaving nothing behind.

Yu fell to his knees, shock on his face as he tried to comprehend what had just happened. Naoto opened her hand to gaze at whatever she'd been given, and choked as she saw a small ring, attached to a silver chain. It was a simple looking silver ring, but for some reason Naoto felt it meant more than she knew. The detective began to tear up, salty tears stinging her eyes.

Teddie spoke up, snapping them out of their shock. "Nana-chan's hurt!" Yu stood up and ran over to his cousin's side. She looked like she was in pain, but she didn't seem to be physically hurt anywhere.

"We need to get her out of here. This worlds not good for her!" Teddie said, standing up from the crouched position he'd been in. The team nodded, and Yu walked over to Naoto, who was turned away from the group so as to hide her face.

"We…we need to go, Naoto." Yu spoke softly, feeling his own despair well up inside him. despite having saved his young cousin. Naoto nodded once, and came over to the group.

"Take us home, Ted." Yu said as he walked up, and the bear nodded. He handed Nanako delicately to her "Big Bro", and summoned his persona.

"Traesto!" he said firmly, and the team disappeared, teleporting back to the entrance of Nanako's world. The group quietly collected their belongings, and hurried out of the T.V, making a beeline towards the Okina hospital where Dojima was.


	25. Between Mind and Matter

Souji was dreaming, or at least, he thought he was. Images flashed across his field of vision, memories of the past dancing everywhere he looked. Some were from the distant past; Yu and Souji fishing by the side of a small pond when they were little, Souji reading a cookbook as he tried his hand at cooking while their caretaker was out partying, Yu asking for help with his second-grade homework, and many more. Others were more recent; the twins first adventure into the T.V with Yosuke and Teddie, the beach trip, and, of course, Souji and the group rescuing Naoto from herself. That memory burned bright in front of Souji's eyes, and seemed to stay longer than the others, but moved away quickly as other images took its place.

Some weren't even memories, but instead were scenarios that Souji instinctually knew were either impossible or were simply laughable. Old visions of nightmares also swirled around the silverette, but these were ignored as Souji had long gotten over his fear of such things. One image made him stare though. Naoto was running, talking on her phone frantically whilst firing round after round into a black mass behind her. Yamato Takeru appeared, casting one of the spells it knew, but the small dent it had made repaired itself, and Souji realized that what was following his girlfriend in this vision were shadows. He watched in horror as they caught her, and although no sound came from the images around him, he felt as if he could hear the sleuth screaming as she was swallowed by the writhing mass of shadows that had overtaken her.

Souji felt weak, and looked around. He pinched himself hard, feeling the sharp pain travel up from the action. So he wasn't dreaming, then. But that only left the boy feeling more confused. The youth closed his eyes, trying to block out the chaos surrounding him, and thought hard. The last thing he remembered was seeing his friend's faces as he faded away, but everything after that was empty and blank. Souji breathed deeply, and focused on sorting out the images he'd just seen in his mind. Some were obviously meaningless, others were events that had never happened and were simply distracting. Some memories had been mixed in, but they weren't in any specific order. He had felt as if he was dreaming, so maybe these were simply dreams around him.

Souji opened his eyes, and noticed that the images had slowed down quite a bit. Obviously, they were connected to him, but maybe the chaos that had been around was in response to the chaos he felt in his own mind. Souji began to think a bit more frantically, and noticed that the pace of the flying images picked up. He grinned as he figured out how to make sense of what he was seeing, and calmed himself, thinking through each thought completely before moving to another one. This action slowed the scenes down, and they eventually came to a rest in a straight line before him. Souji nodded as he grinned again, and reached out to the closest image. As soon as he touched it, the image began to fold itself up, causing the others in the line to follow suit. They floated towards Souji, and disappeared completely as they came into contact with the silverette.

As the last of the images disappeared, Souji looked around once more, finding he could finally make sense of his surroundings now that the distractions had gone. He recognized the blue and gold platform, the images of his friends and family shining slightly. So he was in the place he'd dreamed of before. But why? A thought suddenly struck the teen, and he looked around, silver eyes searching the darkness beyond the platform. "Where are you, Morpheus? I know you're here somewhere." A small chuckle came from beyond the edge of the platform furthest from where he stood, and Morpheus strode into view, clapping his gauntlets as he did so.

"Well done, Souji, well done indeed. Never before has anyone sorted their dreams in such a way, nor have they ever done so anywhere near as fast as you have just done." The Dream-lord stopped a couple of feet in front of Souji, and appeared to be studying the teen with interest. "Yes, you are indeed the most unique being I've met yet, and I have met many fantastical beings in my time."

Souji cocked his head to one side and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Where am I, exactly?" he asked.

Morpheus chuckled again. "Ah, yes, I've forgotten my manners. Welcome to my realm within your mind, Souji Seta."

Morpheus gestured around the platform, and furniture appeared, offering the two a place to sit. "Have a seat. I'm sure you have many questions." The Persona shook his head. "Rather, I know you have many questions. I will answer them as honestly as I am able." Souji nodded and took a seat in the chair nearest him, with Morpheus taking the other across from him. "So, how may I ease your mind?" asked the Persona as he relaxed back in his chair, throwing one of his legs across its arm. Souji smiled as he saw the relaxed manner Morpheus took, and shrugged.

"For starters, what happened after I…disappeared? And just what do you mean by 'Your realm within my mind'?"

Morpheus nodded. "After you began to fade, I took ahold of you. As I said then, I took you from your world. Had I not, you would have indeed faded into nonexistence." Morpheus chuckled lightly. "My sister was none too happy with that, but my cost is determined only by me. None may interfere in my own domain. As for your second question, it is simply what I said. I exist as your Persona, and thus I have residence in your subconscious. This is the place I call home when you do not call upon me for battle, though I can leave of my own volition."

Souji nodded, remembering the interrogation of Mitsuo. "Alright, then why _do_ you leave? Surely there's nothing to gain by helping me interrogate a young teen."

Morpheus shrugged. "You interest me. Helping you on this journey you've undertaken is my task, and I hoped to provide you with more assistance. Appearing in your world isn't that difficult for me, and your reactions never seem to be what I expect. And in anticipation of your next question, yes, I am unique in that aspect. You'll notice Izanagi does not just appear wherever and whenever. Personas require the will of their master to coalesce in your realm, along with the power that stems from that 'T.V World.' However, I control dreams and illusion. And I know you've heard that I am decidedly…different from most Personas. My intrinsic connection with the realm called 'The Velvet Room', along with some minor help from my own power, allows me to achieve abilities beyond that of almost all other beings. Thus, I can appear in the human realm."

Morpheus paused after his lengthy explanation, allowing for Souji to process the information. "So…in a sense, you exist between mind and matter in the same way as The Velvet Room?"

Morpheus tilted his head. "Yes, in a sense of the words. I believe the full explanation was 'this place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter'. Seeing as I govern the realm of dreams, but also exist within reality, the first half of that statement does not truly fit me. However, despite the fact that I rule the dream-world, I am also a being of dreams. Combined with my ability to form a physical body in your realm, this allows me to exist 'between mind and matter'. Dreams are the product of one's mind, but upon becoming a reality, they cease being 'dreams'. I am not bound by such a rule, thus I exist as dream _and_ reality together. Do you understand?" Souji nodded. The concept seemed difficult at first, but he grasped the premise of what Morpheus had said.

"So, in other words, you rule the dream-world as a being of dreams, but can take leave of this world to visit reality from time to time?"

Morpheus nodded emphatically. "Yes, you've grasped the idea. I cannot exist in your realm for long periods of time, but I am able to visit for brief moments. The T.V world is an exception, but I cannot claim to truly understand that place."

Souji closed his eyes as he processed the information he'd been given. "Alright, my next question, then. I understand that disappearing was the cost of your power back then. Just what did that cost entail? Rather, are you able to explain more now than before?"

Morpheus shook his head. "I'm afraid the answer is rather…complicated. It will take time to answer, and it cannot be answered in mere conversation. Do not worry. Time passes rather quickly when you dream, thus your answer should come sooner rather than later. However, I believe some explanation is in order as to this realm, and your purpose in being here." Morpheus shifted so that he sat normally, but bent forward so as to engage Souji.

"You have disappeared from the physical realm. Your body is in a state of limbo, due to the nature of our transaction. What will happen to you, I cannot say, as it rests on your shoulders to decide what may come. As I said before, time passes quickly when you dream. Right now, you stand within the realm of dreams, as you no doubt know already. The time you spend here will seem short, but the time that passes in your realm will be much longer. There isn't a direct correlation between both flows of time, but a rough estimate is every hour here is about a day in your world." Souji sat up straight, inhaling sharply as he did so. Morpheus nodded as Souji grasped the severity of his situation. "Do not worry overmuch, it's not as if you are losing time here. You will age as you normally would, the time will simply _appear_ to pass faster. I guess I should have explained that better before."

A bell tolled in the distance. Morpheus looked down at his feet for a moment, as if lost in thought. Souji took the moment to calm himself down. If what Morpheus had said was true, he was still alive, but at in a sense of the word, he wasn't. He was supposedly in a state of limbo physically. Maybe this place was the limbo Morpheus was talking about? The silverette shook his head; he couldn't make sense of this right now.

Suddenly, Morpheus stood up. Souji followed suit, and the chairs disappeared. "It seems you've no more questions at the moment. That is just as well, because it's time to make yet another deal. However, should any questions arise during your stay here, I will answer them as honestly as I am able. Is that sufficient?"

Souji nodded. "I guess I can't say anything against it; you appear to be a very gracious host."

Morpheus chuckled and shook his head. "Well, although this is my realm, it's still your mind. You are no guest here, Souji." Morpheus turned towards the edge of the platform, speaking to Souji as he did so. "I will be back momentarily; I must prepare the materials for our next transaction." He turned a bit and looked at Souji's barren wrist. The Dream-lord waved his hand, and a blue and gold watch appeared on the teens arm. "Here, this should help you with your track of time. The estimate isn't exact, but it should provide some closure for you. It's been half an hour, by the way." With that, Morpheus walked off the edge of the platform and into the darkness, disappearing from Souji's view.

* * *

Naoto sat in the chair in her 'apartment' living room. She stared dully at the ring in her hand, silver chain swaying slightly from the small movements the sleuth made. After they'd gotten Nanako to the hospital, the team had shared their grief together in the hall outside the young girls' room. Each member had found some way to blame themselves, and it had taken the comforting words of Yu Narukami and the somewhat harsh words of Kanji Tatsumi to raise them from their sullen states.

The team had left at the behest of Adachi, who was concerned that the troubled youths might collapse if they pushed themselves any further. Naoto had come home, but found herself unable, or unwilling, to do anything. So she sat in her chair, staring at the only remnant she had of Souji Seta. She bit back a sob as she thought to the few times Souji had wanted to take a picture of the two of them; Naoto had declined out of shyness and embarrassment. She wished now that she had just let Souji take the pictures, so that she might be able to look at them now.

A small discrepancy on the interior of the ring caught her eye, and she looked closer at it. Despite its considerable size, as it definitely wasn't meant to fit her finger, the ring seemed to weigh much less than it should have, especially given the material it was made out of; silver being heavier than iron. The discrepancy Naoto had noticed was a small panel on the interior of the ring, and the sleuth stood up to retrieve a small flat-head screwdriver. She sat back down in the chair, and placed the screwdriver's head inside one edge of the panel. She pulled lightly, and found that the panel slid open, but was not meant to come apart fully.

A small ribbon poked out from inside, and Naoto stood to retrieve some tweezers so as to pull out the contents of the hollow ring. The ribbon was attached to a small roll of paper, and as Naoto unfurled it, a confused look crossed her face. The paper was blank, but a small chip was attached to its center. It looked like a phone chip, and Naoto reached into her pocket to retrieve her own cell phone. Sitting down at the tea table in the living room, the detective gingerly removed the chip from the paper, and placed it into the open slot on her phone. A few moments passed as she stared at the screen, a loading message playing across it.

Suddenly, the loading finished, and a single picture popped up. Naoto choked as she looked at it, and broke into tears as she set the phone down, eyes blurring as she looked at the photo. It was a photo of her and Souji, the day she had confessed to him. They were sitting on the couch in his room; Naoto was resting her head against Souji's shoulder, fast asleep. Souji had taken the photo while she slept, and Naoto smiled through her tears as she thought about what she'd have done had she known the silverette had taken such a picture of her. Souji was smiling warmly in the photo, right arm outstretched as he took the photo while his left was wrapped around Naoto's shoulders, resting lightly on her arm.

Naoto cried openly in the solitude of her home as she thought about her boyfriend; that night he'd brought her back from the T.V world, carrying her on his back without complaint. She thought of the night she'd asked him to bring her some dinner because Rise had left without her phone, a mistake that Rise had fumed at herself for making for a few days. Naoto had never paid the silverette back for the food, but he'd never even brought it up. Naoto smiled as she remembered the long days that had followed; the case of the 'Phantom Thief' that Souji had stubbornly insisted on helping her with, the fact that he hadn't treated her any different from before her Shadow had revealed her secrets to the people she now called friends.

Naoto shook her head lightly as a sad frown crossed her face. She thought of the day they'd caught Yakushiji in the act of hiding one of her tools, though she hadn't known it was him until she'd seen him. The sleuth thought about the fast movement of Souji throwing himself between her and Yakushiji, not knowing the knife he held had been a toy, and the rage and concern she'd felt at the elder boy for recklessly risking himself like that.

She thought of his words just after she'd finished, when she'd asked him why he'd done such a thing. "Because…I love you…" Naoto fought back more tears as she thought back to that moment. She hadn't known how to respond. Despite her own reservations, she'd felt attracted to the boy ever since they'd met at Kanji's shop, though she hadn't really understood the feelings at the time. Then he'd sought her out a few days later, asking for information about Kanji. The detective had suspected him for some connection to the case, but the manner of his involvement had been far beyond her ability to understand, at least at that moment. The silverette had this way of connecting to people, and Naoto had felt herself drawn towards the youth even more, and more still after their next encounter outside Marukyu Tofu.

Then, she'd seen him again, working alongside Dojima-san at the Inaba Police Department, sorting files and managing the paperwork Dojima had handed him. But she'd also noticed that he had been solving cases the police had believed to have gone cold. Although they weren't horribly serious in comparison to the murder cases, they still were significantly difficult pieces to work with, given how long they'd sat in the haphazard filing system Dojima and the other officers had adopted. Souji had solved them in the matter of a few hours, or days, depending on which case he'd picked up. His quick mind and keen senses made the silver-eyed teen stand out even more to Naoto than his outward appearance normally did, and when Naoto had needed help with Mitsuo Kubo, she had turned to the youth for help.

He'd told her about what had happened in the interrogation room after they'd rescued her from the Secret Lab, and Naoto felt amazed at Souji's power alongside his mysterious Persona. So when Souji had confessed his love to her, Naoto had reacted in the only way she knew how, and had retreated to the security of her home, where she'd called Yakushiji and her grampa, demanding an explanation. The rest was a blur in her mind, up until the point where she had confessed to Souji.

The world had slowed down drastically then, and she thought she could still feel the teens arms around her as he hugged her close to him, Naoto squeezing tightly in return. The detective yawned loudly, and decided that her sorrow could wait for her to rest. She grabbed her phone and placed it on the charger by her desk, and shuffled off to bed, laying down without changing out of her clothes from that day.


	26. Return

Souji was studying the images on the floor around him, admiring the intricate detail each image had. His friends looked exactly as they did in the real world, albeit here they were a distinctive shade of blue. There was Yosuke, winking knowingly as he'd done so many times whenever he'd teased his friends. Chie was smiling next to him, arms raised in a martial arts stance Souji didn't recognize, while Yukiko stood to her friends' side, face contorted as if she was suffering from another laughing fit. Souji smiled, thinking of the first friends he and Yu had made in Inaba.

He moved to the next set, smile widening. Here was Rise, Kanji, and Teddie. The teen idol was holding a microphone, as if singing one of her many songs she knew. Kanji stood behind her on the idols right, arms crossed while a confident smirk played across his face. Teddie stood next to Rise's left, and Souji laughed as he saw what could only be topsicles in the bear-boy's hands and mouth. The carefree youth was dressed in the clothes Chie had bought him, but he sat on the head of his bear-suit, grinning mischievously. Souji looked around.

Nanako and Dojima were together in their image, laughing around the tea table, and Ai, Kou, Daisuke, and Ayane stood together, an unlikely grouping if there ever was one. The people he'd helped while working his part time jobs were also grouped together, hands raised as if waving hello. Souji turned, and found the last of the images grouped in the center of the circle. Gold veins were connecting each of the other images to this final one, and Souji felt bittersweet as he looked at it.

Yu and Souji stood side by side. Yu had his left arm around Souji's shoulders, and wore a wide smile. Souji was smiling warmly, but his gaze was directed downward at the figure his arms were wrapped around. Naoto stood facing out, so that Souji could see her face fully. One hand gripped Souji's tightly while the other was raised, tugging her cap down a bit. Even in this image, Naoto's characteristic shyness was all too evident, and the thought of his girlfriend brought tears to Souji's eyes. What was she doing now? How was she feeling? Was she okay, and did they get Nanako back safely? Souji had no idea what the answers could possibly be.

He'd been in this realm for 27 hours, yet had not felt the need to sleep, nor had he felt any hunger. And if Morpheus's information was accurate, that would mean he'd been missing from his world for almost a month. " _That would make today…December 3_ _rd_ _…"_ Souji sighed. He wished he could go back, but that wish seemed impossible. Morpheus had kept his word, and whenever Souji needed a question answered, the Dream-lord had tried to answer them to the best of his abilities. Souji didn't know why he trusted the words of his Persona so much, but something about Morpheus had convinced Souji that he wouldn't lie. He thought about the new deal Morpheus had given him.

There was a way for Souji to return, but he would have to prove himself to the Dream-lord in order to do so. Morpheus had told him the cost wouldn't be as extreme as before, but had withheld just what the cost would be, asking Souji to instead place his faith in Souji's own abilities. Souji had readily agreed, steeling himself for what he thought would be an arduous undertaking, but instead found that Morpheus gave him multiple different tasks, usually involving sorting and managing the many dreams that entered his domain.

"These are the dreams of many people of the world" Morpheus had said, showing Souji the many nightmares and dreams swirling around him. "My task for you is to regulate these dreams; or make sure that the people who produce these dreams do not respond…shall we say, negatively, to their own creations. It is a difficult concept to explain, but the minds of people are fickle. They tend to reject even the best of ideas, to the point where they'll harm themselves thinking that they're protecting themselves. My job is to make sure they do not cause permanent harm, though preventing any harm is a welcome goal." Souji had asked about nightmares, seeing them as being harmful in and of themselves. Morpheus had simply shrugged. "Nightmares serve their own purpose. They exist to remind people of the feeling of fear; too many people these days lack that feeling, and it only serves to cause problems, especially when people feel no fear in the face of overwhelming odds."

Souji had taken this information in stride, and received a crash course on what to do. The job had been very simple, and he'd finished his last sorting just a short while ago. Morpheus had excused himself for a short while, claiming he had more to set up for their deal, and gave Souji a break. Souji had no way of knowing how good a job he'd been doing, but the simplicity of this task had left him feeling worried. Surely this was only the first in a long line of requirements, given how easy it had felt.

Footsteps alerted Souji to Morpheus' return, and the silverette stood up, turning to face the Dream-lord, anticipating yet another round of dreams. Instead, he watched as Morpheus strode over, holding a large staff. "Here, take this." He said, tossing the weapon to Souji, who caught it midair, twirling it deftly. "What's this for?" he asked, looking confused. Morpheus reached behind him, grasping his own staves, pulling them from their resting place. He held the together, heads on opposite ends, and Souji watched as they fused together, making a large black-and-white staff that Morpheus held in a two-handed grip.

"You've exceeded my expectations in the task I assigned you. Your ability to protect the minds of people from themselves rivals my own; I was not expecting you to proceed with such ease. Managing one's own thoughts is a difficult task to begin with, but you unwittingly managed the minds of thousands at once, adjusting each dream sequence in ways I would not have thought to do. I was not anticipating the final task to come so quickly, but here we stand." Souji's eyebrows rose as his eyes widened; he was on the last task! But the fact that he was holding a weapon concerned him, especially since it was so unfamiliar. Did Morpheus intend to fight him?

"So, what are the details of this last task?" Souji asked, hefting the staff so as to test its weight. It was heavy, and unbalanced. This was not going to be easy. Morpheus nodded, but didn't lower his own weapon.

"In order for you to return, you must complete the tasks I set forth. I only ever intended for two tasks, though I had thought they might take longer than this to accomplish. Your first task was to manage the dreams, to become familiar with the minds of others. Your ease in managing those dreams proves your familiarity on both a conscious and instinctual level. Your second task is this; if you wish to return to your world, you must defeat me. Thus, we fight. It will be easier than you might think, as I cannot unleash the power I wield in the physical realm here, thus I am limited to only my weapons, as are you. This is not a contest of power, nor is it truly of skill. Your willpower will determine your success."

Morpheus shifted on his feet, adjusting his weight slightly. Souji felt a knot in his stomach. Willpower may be what determined his success, but this would also fall upon his skill in battle, and he was using an unfamiliar weapon. Morpheus knew what he was comfortable with using, so he must have made the decision to hamper the teen in this way. Souji nodded as Morpheus asked him if he was ready to begin, and Souji got the feeling that his Persona was smirking underneath his helmet. "Well then, let us begin" he said, and leaped towards Souji, staff raised high.

* * *

Yu felt his entire body go weak. He returned his phone to his pocket and looked around at his friends. They were standing inside Junes, looking for a kotatsu for Nanako. Yosuke and Chie had gotten into an argument after the martial artist had suggested they make Yosuke pay for a Christmas gift for Nanako, but the Junes Prince had been smiling the entire time, making a show out of his usual demeanor when asked to pay for something. Now, however, they stopped and looked at Yu's face, worry showing on everyone's face. "What's going on?" Yosuke asked, walking over to stand in front of Yu. The silverette could barely find his voice, but managed to say something, albeit hoarsely.

"Nanako…she's…"

He couldn't finish. Yosuke's face blanched, and he looked around. "Let's get over there, quick!" he said, and the assembled teens sprinted from the store, gifts and kotatsu forgotten in their concern for the young girl.

* * *

Souji breathed heavily. Morpheus was swatting him around the platform as the silverette fumbled with his staff, trying to ward off as many blows as he could, unable to take the offense due to the Dream-lords vicious onslaught. "Is this truly your best, Souji Seta? Where is the fire within you? Where is that rage and conviction from the Secret Lab? Are you giving up so easily?!" Morpheus rained down on Souji with blow after blow, staff whirling like a tornado as he spun and struck, jabbing at the teen with one of the staves heads one moment, and then battering him with the shaft the next. Souji was thrown backwards as Morpheus shoved his weapon into Souji's stomach, and the teen fell to the floor, sprawled flat. He groaned softly; how was he supposed to beat Morpheus like this? He needed to figure out how to use this weapon, or he'd never get back.

Morpheus sighed, resting the bottom of his staff against the floor. "Truly, after your display of control over one's mind, I expected more from you. You've faced impossible odds before, but I guess that was simply luck that sped you through." Souji closed his eyes, thinking back to the fights with Kanji's and Naoto's Shadows. True, he'd managed to defeat them basically on his own, but he'd never have made it through without the help of his friends. Their support had made it possible for him to awaken to the power he'd used.

A thought occurred to him, and he sat up slowly, looking at Morpheus. "You said my body was in limbo, correct? I'm feeling every blow you've landed on me, but before this fight, I didn't feel any exhaustion, nor hunger, nor much of any feeling I'd expect to have. Why would that be possible? Isn't this place the limbo you were speaking of?"

Morpheus shook his head, a note of exasperation in his voice. "No, this realm is not limbo. Physical entities cannot enter here. I told you before, this is my realm within your mind. Your body exists elsewhere, though where that may be, I cannot say."

Souji nodded slowly. An idea was forming, and Morpheus' answer had helped cement it in place. "Then, this place is more or less a product of my mind. It may be your realm, but you said it was within my mind, that I was no guest here, correct?"

Morpheus nodded slowly, raising his staff into a guarded stance as he did so. "Yes…that is correct. What are you getting at?" Souji grinned at the cautious look Morpheus was taking; it was definitively different from the vicious appearance he'd had a moment earlier.

"Then, if what you say is true, the form I'm in now is simply something my mind created to make sense of this place, yes?" Morpheus nodded again, raising his staff in front of him, as if expecting something to hit him. Souji stood up, feeling a surge of energy, though he knew now that the feeling mattered little. The wounds he'd received from Morpheus' assault faded, and the teen looked at the staff in his hands. "This hasn't helped at all" he murmured, and brought it up to his head, holding it horizontally. Souji raised his knee up a bit, and swiftly brought the staff down onto it, snapping the seemingly heavy weapon in half like a twig. He held the two halves of the wood in both hands, and thought about his Tonfa, remembering the ease with which he used them. The wood glowed brightly, and began changing shape and material. As Souji opened his eyes, he saw that his Tonfa had appeared, strapped to his wrist and arm just as before. The teen smirked, and looked back up at Morpheus, who had backed away a bit.

"So, you figured out the truth of this place, then." The Dream-lord looked at Souji, seeing an aura of confidence emanate from the previously kowtowed youth.

Souji nodded at his Persona. "I could have left at any time. We are bound by our minds, and we tend to hurt ourselves thinking that our actions will protect us." A silver vapor began to encircle the Tonfa's blades, threads of gold mist entwined within it. Souji continued, feeling power surge through his mental body. "You said it yourself, Morpheus. This realm is made up of dreams. The tasks you assigned me were simply distractions, as is this fight. Your price for doing these menial tasks never really existed, did it?" Souji could sense the smile underneath Morpheus' helmet.

"Yes, there never was a price. That is why I told you to place faith in your own abilities. The cost I create for any deals I make are of my own choosing, and if I chose for an absence of any payment, that's my decision to make." Morpheus pointed his staff towards Souji. "And I apologize for the deception, but I felt it was necessary. You've learned a great deal about yourself, and although much time has passed in your realm, I believe you will return stronger than ever before." The staff tip glowed brightly, and a multitude of colored vapors spread forth, blue, purple, and white swirling around each other as they joined the silver and gold vapors around Souji's weapons. "You have mastered the realm of your dreams and mind. That was the true meaning of the tasks I presented to you. By managing the minds of others, you learned how to manage yourself. This allowed you to control the dreams you see. Thus, you can control your own power within my realm, making yourself as powerful or as weak as you need to be for any give circumstance."

Morpheus lowered his staff as the last of the vapor dissipated, and bowed deeply. "Souji Seta, I am yours to command. I relinquish to you access to my full powers, so that you may overcome life's hardships." The Persona raised its head. "The power will not come with any cost, of course. You have conquered me and my realm, after all."

Souji nodded, and bowed in return, shocking the Dream-lord. "Thank you for the lessons. You have helped me more than I could have imagined."

Morpheus chuckled. "Truly, you are a unique being, Souji. I am honored to serve you as your Persona." The Dream-lord sheathed his staff, and clapped his hands. "Well then, I believe it is high time to see you off. I've been asked to hand you over to those who can assist you better with the power you now possess, and I never renege on my agreements." Souji cocked his head to one side, a confused look on his face. Morpheus chuckled again. "I cannot provide you with any more information than that, I'm afraid. My sister is the one who informed me, and my treatment of you has irked her greatly. But, that's beside the point." Morpheus waved his hand, and a robe appeared in front of Souji, similar to the one Morpheus wore. "Please, take this, as a gift and an apology. It signifies your achievements here, as well as the connection you now share with me."

Souji nodded, thanking the Persona for the gift. It was made out of a delicate material, but was comfortable, and Souji threw it over his shoulders. It fit perfectly, as if tailor-made for him.

"It will protect you from most harm; it cannot be pierced by any blade, nor can it be harmed by gunfire. And it resists most elemental spells, though, like myself, it cannot resist fire. It will also grow to fit you, so if you grow taller or…wider…it will change to match you. I hope it serves you well."

Souji nodded again, marveling at the robes inherent abilities. Morpheus strode over and placed a hand on Souji's shoulder. "Now, we've tarried long enough. I doubt the residents of that room will take kindly to you being late, so we must be off. Close your eyes." Souji did as he was told, and closed his eyes. He felt a shift in his surroundings, and opened his eyes. He was standing on a fog covered road, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. A low hum broke the silence, and Souji looked down the road in the direction it came from. A midnight black limousine appeared, and Souji smiled. His vision blurred, then subsequently cleared, and he found himself once again in the presence of Igor and Margaret.

"Welcome to The Velvet Room" Igor said, a smile on his face as he regarded Souji warmly. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Souji Seta. You've had quite the life experience, it would seem."

Souji grinned, leaning on the familiar bar as he faced the elder man. "Well, that's an understatement." The silverette quipped, causing Igor to let a low chuckle escape, and Margaret smiled at the youth. His disappearance had disturbed her greatly, but it had caused another even more grief.

"Ahem!" The noise came from behind Souji, and the silverette turned to find its source. His face blanched when he saw Marie, arms crossed in front of her, foot tapping lightly on the floor of the vehicle.

"Ah…Err…Hello, Marie…" Souji stammered out an informal greeting, and immediately regretted it.

"Hello?! Is that all you have to say, you stupidblockheadedmoron?! I was worried sick about you! Why would you disappear like that! I hate you!" Tears formed as Marie vented, walking over and slapping Souji's arms, face, and shoulders as she took out her worried frustration on its source. "You didn't even say goodbye, you just left for some stupid reason because you're an idiot who doesn't pay attention to the deals he makes! What if you hadn't come back? What would I have done?! What about Yu, or that detective girl, huh? How do you think they felt?!" Marie finally stepped back, leaving Souji to massage the spots where she'd hit him. Igor beckoned Marie over, and the young girl sat down in her usual spot, a huff escaping as she did so.

"You have definitely worried many people, Mr. Seta. But it seems you've returned stronger for your efforts. This is just as well, as you will undoubtedly face more trials ahead." Igor regarded Souji calmly, and eyebrow quirked up as he regarded the silverette's eyes. "It seems that Morpheus has left you with more than just a robe as a parting gift." Igor gestured towards the mirror behind the bar as Souji stared at him quizzically, and the teen turned to view his reflection. His appearance was a bit gaunt, though not nearly as much as Souji had expected, but the change he noticed most was his eyes. There was now a thin line of gold around each pupil. He regarded his appearance with some shock; was this another symbol of the time he'd spent in that realm?

He turned back to Igor, whose gaze was unwavering. "You have become even stronger than we'd imagined, and you've also unlocked the secrets behind your Persona. His power did indeed present a danger to you, but you have overcome it, and can now command it with impunity, in regards to any 'cost' to your well-being." Igor's eyes gleamed, and he continued softly. "The connection to this room that was contained within your Persona now rests within you. It seems you may access unique powers related to this realm. What those may be, I cannot claim to know. You will have to discover them for yourself."

Igor waved his hand, and Souji heard the voices of his friends. They seemed to be concerned about something, speaking frantically. It seemed they were running, though Souji couldn't make out what it was that they were running for. Margaret spoke up, soft voice piercing Souji's reverie. "Something has happened in your world. Your friends and brother are moving quickly towards the hospital where your uncle and cousin are." Souji's face dropped, and he felt his pulse quicken. Igor spoke as Souji opened his mouth, stopping the boy from speaking. "I'm afraid we must speed you on your way. Your fate is interesting, but with the events currently in motion, holding you here would only harm the fulfillment of your contract."

Souji looked at Igor, confused. Hadn't they caught Namatame? Or was something going to happen; would Namatame not face justice? Igor waved his hand, and Souji's vision began to blur once more. "We shall see you again, Souji Seta. Good luck."

Souji felt dizzy, and closed his eyes to fight the wave of nausea that had swept over him. When he opened them, he found himself standing in front of the hospital in Okina City. Souji looked around, feeling lightheaded as he recognized the scenery around him. "Well…I'm back!"


	27. Miracles

Souji was still getting his bearings when he heard footsteps approach behind him. He turned towards the sound, and couldn't help but grin as he saw the looks on his friends' faces. The teens stood shocked as they looked at the boy who'd disappeared right before their eyes.

"Dude…" Yosuke mumbled, face as white as a sheet. Chie and Yukiko began stammering gibberish, unable to find any words to express their surprise. Kanji took a step back, bumping into Teddie, who looked at the silverette with a mixture of glee and awe spread across his face.

Yu shook his head, doing a double take to make sure he was really seeing his twin brother again. The other twin had thrown himself into his work during the past month, drowning his sorrow with exertion in hopes that it may distract him from Souji's absence. His legs felt weak, and he leaned on Rise, who could only hold her hands to her mouth as tears threatened to fall from her eyes. Souji smiled warmly, feeling his own eyes sting as he saw the faces of the people he'd been taken from, and looked around for the one person he had yet to see.

A small figure clad in navy blue stood in the back of the group, and Souji's eyes widened as he saw her approach quickly. He crossed the short distance to her as she moved, and held Naoto tightly as the sleuth threw her arms around her boyfriend's torso, any shyness or embarrassment she felt melting away as she reunited with the boy she loved so dearly.

"Naoto…" Souji croaked hoarsely as he said her name, letting his tears flow freely as he held the detective close, feeling his heart pound as he felt her squeeze him tighter in return.

"I…I thought…you were gone!" Naoto muttered, voice somewhat muffled by Souji's robe. She would have to ask about that later, but right now, all she could think about was him; that she hadn't lost him; how he'd come back to her; that he was here now and that was all that mattered. The rest of the group came running over, embracing Souji as one as they expressed their relief at his return. Souji looked at his friends, each one bearing a large smile, some with tear stains on their cheeks. He had never felt more glad to see them than he did now, but a small flag that raised itself in his mind caused him to break away from his friends mass hug, though he held on to Naoto's hand tightly.

"What's going on? Why are you all here?" he asked, directing his question mainly at his brother. The group's cheerful mood suddenly darkened, and Yu caught his brother up to speed. He'd have to question him later, Nanako needed them now. Souji's face blanched as he heard about the events he'd missed this past month, and shook his head as Yu told him about Nanako's most recent news.

"We need to get up there, now." Yu finished, already moving towards the door.

"Yeah, standing here won't get us anywhere." Souji agreed, and the reunited Investigation Team ran into the hospital, feeling the urgency of the situation once more.

* * *

Souji leaned his head against the doorframe outside of Nanako's room. Yu and Dojima were inside, along with Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko, and Teddie. Souji had found himself unable to remain in the room after Nanako's breathing had stilled, and had come out to see Kanji pacing nervously around, Rise crying, and Naoto looking downcast, tears threatening to fall for the second time that night. The three had looked up as Souji as he'd walked out, and one look at his face had answered their unspoken question.

Kanji walked over to the wall next to the door, throwing a punch at it as he screamed. Rise broke even further into tears, sobbing loudly as she felt her heart plummet to the ground. Naoto could only mutter Nanako's name, and looked towards Souji. The silver-haired youth looked gaunt, more-so now than he had outside the hospital. What could have possibly happened to him, Naoto couldn't guess, but he was obviously not as healthy as she'd last seen him, and Nanako's death had just made his condition worse.

Dojima exited the room, ignoring the teens as he walked by. He even ignored Adachi, who had yet to hear the news about Nanako. "Dojima-san…? What's with that look?" Adachi turned to the teens, not registering Souji's presence as he looked at the others faces. "Huh? What's wrong, everyone...? Huh...? Wait...I-Is Nanako-chan...?" Adachi turned back to look down the hall where Dojima had gone. "B-But then...where did Dojima-san go? His room isn't that way—Wait a sec, that's the way to...!"

Adachi began stammering with nervous excitement, talking about Namatame and his room. Kanji turned to glare at the hapless detective, and stalked over to him, forcing him into the corner between the wall and the window of the hall. Rise stood up, calling for Yu and the others to come out. The rest of the teens ran out of the room at the idol's worried voice, and she explained that Dojima may have gone after Namatame.

Yosuke looked menacingly at Adachi, and had to be held back by Chie and Souji as he advanced upon the detective. "You transported him to the same hospital?! For crying out loud, he's the _suspect_ in the case!" Adachi shook his head, stammering out an excuse to make up for his actions.

"Where is he, Adachi?!" Yu said coldly, glaring at his uncles' partner.

"I can't tell you! If I did, I'd be-." Adachi didn't get to finish as Kanji grabbed his shirt, lifting him up a few feet off the floor.

"Just tell us where he is already! Dojima-san's on his way, ain't he? You don't know what he's gonna do there if we don't stop him!"

Chie gasped, letting go of her boyfriend as she looked at the ex-punk. "Kanji-kun, you don't mean…?" Kanji ignored the martial artist, and slammed Adachi against the wall.

"Cough it up! Where's his room?" he yelled. Adachi managed to choke out the answer, and Kanji let him go, running towards Namatame's room, with the rest of the group close on his heels.

* * *

Namatame was on the floor, muttering to himself as he cowered in the corner of his room. He'd tried to jump out of the window, but had fallen back into his room, and now the Investigation Team surrounded him, minus Teddie, who hadn't left Nanako's side. "You have your life...and now you want your freedom, too!?" Yosuke spoke harshly, feeling bile rise in his throat as he looked at the face of the man responsible for the death of Saki Konishi.

Chie shook as adrenaline surged through her. "It's your fault that Nanako-chan's...!" she started, but couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence, as if it might confirm the reality of the situation. Namatame mumbled weakly, but was interrupted as the large T.V in his room glared to life. The image of Namatame appeared on the screen, the world of Nanako's Heaven in the background.

"I failed to save her! It's because you got in my way!" said the image. Souji thought quickly as the rest of the team gawked. This had to be Namatame's Shadow, but hadn't they beaten him before?

Souji shook his head, thinking. _"No, we never saw Namatame's shadow. We beat Namatame himself. So his shadow must still exist in that world."_

Shadow-Namatame spoke up as Souji finished his thought. "I failed. But it wasn't my fault. And the law can't touch me anyway..." It cackled as the team stared dumbstruck at it.

"Is that what Namatame's really thinking!? Then...he wasn't deranged or anything...He knew what he was doing...!" Chie spoke softly, and Yosuke shook his head angrily. "To hell with the law...I won't ever forgive what you did...!" he said, and advanced on Namatame.

Namatame scrambled away from the brunette. "Th-This...Please...Stop..." he stammered, deranged fear in his eyes.

Kanji snorted. "Huh? Stop what? We ain't even done anything yet...Or do you want us to do something...? Something fitting for a bastard like you!"

Rise's eyes widened at Kanji's words, and she stammered his name out in an attempt to draw his attention away from Namatame. The Shadow on-screen laughed. "Do whatever you want. You hate me because the child died, don't you? I don't care either way. Living or dying makes no difference to me. But you...You're different." It chuckled before continuing. "You can't do such a thing. You wouldn't dare, right? I'll continue "saving" people...It's my mission...!" The T.V shut off, and the group all turned to face each other.

"My god..." Naoto muttered, looking at Namatame with hatred.

"He wants us to stop. What should we do?" Yosuke asked quietly. Chie looked at her boyfriend in alarm. "Wh-What do you mean...?" she asked.

Kanji answered her. "We can't let this bastard do whatever he pleases" said the punk-tailor, popping his knuckles.

Now it was Yukiko's turn to stare at the boys. "Still...What are you going to do?"

Yosuke shook his head in response. "No way I'm gonna walk out of here doing nothing..."

Chie looked mortified. "I-I understand, but..."

Naoto walked over to the T.V, looking it up and down. "This must be a luxury suite. Most hospital wards don't have such large televisions...Why, with something like this in the room, this man could escape at any time...Although once he enters...he may find there's no way out." She spoke calmly and quietly, and Souji could sense the malice in her voice.

"Wait a second! Y-You don't mean...Are you...serious...?" Rise stammered. The group broke out into argument, Yosuke and Kanji insisting that something be done while Chie, Yukiko, and Rise insisted that their intentions were wrong. Yosuke hushed them all, and looked towards the twins. Yu stood at the back of the group, face contorted in anger, while Souji stood next to the T.V, eyes closed as he sorted his thoughts. Something was wrong with this situation, and it wasn't just the decisions that were being made. What Namatame's shadow had said didn't add up quite right. Souji couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Namatame began crawling slowly towards the door while the teens were distracted.

"If any of you want no part in this, just leave the room. I'm not gonna force you to stay. As for me, nothing could make me forgive this bastard...But before we do this, I want to hear what you two think." Yosuke addressed the twins in turn.

Yu didn't respond immediately, so Souji spoke up instead. "Wait a second…Something's off about this whole thing." Yosuke's gaze turned fiery as he looked at Souji. "What do you mean, 'something's off'? Namatame's Shadow just told us what he was really thinking!"

Souji shook his head. "Did you forget already? The Shadows don't necessarily reveal the truth of a person, they only show that persons darkest thoughts. Do you really think Chie would have used Yukiko as a stool, like her shadow said she would? Or how about Rise? What makes you think she'd strip? Think for a moment, Yosuke!"

The brunette looked stunned for a moment, but waved away Souji's explanation. "Look, that's true for their cases, but we know Namatame's behind all of this! He thought he was 'saving' people by throwing them into the T.V! What more proof do you need!?" Yosuke's voice began getting louder and louder as he spoke.

Souji looked hard at the teen. "I need to know Namatame's true feelings! I'm not going to act on a damned whim because I heard one side of the story from the most untrustworthy source in existence!"

Yosuke shook his head. "Who gives a damn about that bastards feelings!? He's the one who killed Saki-senpai and that announcer!"

Souji crossed his arms. "We're missing something, Yosuke! I'm not condemning a man to death unless I know for certain he's guilty!"

Yu finally spoke up, voice quiet. "He's responsible for Nanako's death, Souji. We know that's true." Yu looked at his brother, silently daring him to respond. Souji returned the glare, searching for an answer that might stall whatever was going on.

"Are you gonna let him get away with that?! To hell with your 'something's missing'! Are we doing this or not? That's all I give a damn about right now!" Yosuke said harshly, causing Souji's attention to divert momentarily to him.

"To hell with all this crap." Yu said, and stalked over to Namatame, who had made it halfway to the door at this point.

The silverette grabbed Namatame's hospital gown at the neck, clenching a fistful of the material as he began to drag the man towards the T.V. Chie made as if to stop him, but Yosuke blocked her path, shaking his head. Kanji moved in front of Yukiko and Rise, preventing them from interfering as well. Yu was two feet from the T.V when movement flashed in front of him.

Souji's fist connected hard with his brother's face, and Yu reeled backwards from the impact, letting go of Namatame, who scampered back to the corner he'd been in previously. Yu steadied himself, and launched himself at his twin, rage blinding him. A wild fist lashed out at Souji, but the battle Souji'd had with Morpheus had served to heighten his awareness, and the youth sidestepped out of Yu's path. Grabbing his brother by the collar, Souji pulled Yu down hard as he brought his knee up into Yu's stomach. Without waiting for the other boy to recover, Souji pressed forward, grabbing Yu by the hair and wrenching him upright. Souji hooked his leg behind Yu's, and pushed hard, throwing his entire weight behind the action. Yu tripped backwards, falling onto the soft hospital bed that Souji had thrown him towards.

"Everyone, calm the hell down!" Souji yelled, looking around at the dazed faces of his friends. Yu groaned as he sat up, tenderly feeling his nose to check for a break. Souji glared at his brother. "If you throw Namatame in there, you'll be no better than him. I want to see him brought to justice just as much as you do, but killing him isn't the answer!" The group took a deep breath as Souji spoke, seeing the truth behind his words. Yosuke still grumbled occasionally, but a stern ribbing from Chie shut him up.

Naoto spoke up for the first time in a while after calming down. "You're right...We should calm down and think rationally about this. I realize now that we've heard almost nothing from Namatame's perspective. There's no denying that this man brought great harm to Nanako-chan...But other than that point, the rest comes from our assumptions based on watching the Midnight Channel a moment ago. I won't deny that we were blinded by the heat of the moment...trying to impute all responsibility to him rashly." Kanji and Yosuke spoke against her, but a deadly look from Souji made them take a step back.

"Namatame's in no condition to talk right now" said the silverette, looking at the stricken delivery-man. Namatame was curled up in the fetal position, eyes wide in terror as he muttered absolute gibberish. Souji moved to Naoto's side, placing a hand on her shoulder. Despite what the detective had said, her fists were still clenched tightly, and the look she'd thrown at Namatame didn't serve to convince Souji that she had truly believed what she'd said. "Look, we'll come back tomorrow and see if he's capable of talking, alright? For now, we should leave."

Yosuke shook his head, but agreed anyways. "Fine, but if he ever does this again, nothing's going to stop me. I'll do anything…anywhere…anytime."

Souji nodded. "If that happens, I'll be right beside you. I feel the same way. But we aren't getting anywhere right now."

The team breathed a collective sigh, some in relief, others in frustration. Adachi came running in, ordering them to leave the room, and the team filed out of the room and stood outside, discussing what they'd just finished. Adachi came back out to hush them when a nurse came running up. "There you are! Please, come with me immediately!" The team left at the urging of Adachi, and followed the nurse to Nanako's room. The doctor stood by her bedside, adjusting the girls' sheets, but turned as the group entered.

Yu fell to his knees as he saw Nanako's chest rise and fall steadily, and Souji leaned hard on Naoto's shoulder, relief spreading over his face. The doctor was informing the group of Nanako' miraculous recovery, causing Kanji to whoop with elation while the girls began crying. "Miracles really do happen…" Naoto murmured, helping Souji stand a little taller as she did so.

Yosuke looked around, his smile fading as he did so. "Hey…Where's Teddie? I figured he wouldn't leave Nanako's side." The group began looking around as well, noting the bear-boy's absence. Yosuke resolved to call him once they left the hospital, figuring he'd simply wandered off. The group came together around Nanako's bed, hearts feeling light as they watched the young girl breathe, although they felt a twinge as they saw the strain she was under as she fought to stay alive. Slowly, quietly, the group made their way out of the hospital and onto Okina's streets. The buses would be running back to Inaba again soon, and most of the group left towards the nearest bus stop.

Souji and Yu stayed behind, standing at the entrance of the hospital. Yu looked at his brother, noting the change in his demeanour all of a sudden. The other boy was staring up into the night sky, watching the falling of the first snow of the year. The soft pat of footsteps made Yu turn towards the street, and he saw Yosuke walking back towards them, saying nothing as he approached the twins.

Souji sighed, clenching and unclenching his fists as he began to speak. "Did I…Did I do the right thing back there, stopping you guys?" he asked, blinking as snow fell onto his face. Yosuke said nothing, choosing instead to squeeze his best friends shoulder. Yu nodded firmly, and walked over to stand on his brothers other side, sensing his brother's need for some support. Wherever he'd gone, it had changed him, and Yu could only guess what had happened to make his brother look as weak as he did now. The three teens stared silently into the night, watching the snow fall softly until they heard Chie call for them, letting them know that the bus would be arriving soon.


	28. The Aftermath

The team sat around the table at Junes, platters of food growing cold as they stared sullenly at the ground. Yosuke had been unable to find Teddie overnight, and the rest of the group had fanned out to search for their missing friend after Yosuke had informed them of Teddie's absence. Rise went inside the T.V to search the other world, and the rest searched all of Inaba, Okina, and even Shichiri Beach, but their efforts had proved fruitless. They sat now, looking downcast as Rise reported the bear-boy's absence from his home. "He plays dumb a lot, but he's attached to us deep down...He wouldn't disappear without saying anything, right?" Yosuke asked, looking around at his friends. Chie, sitting next to her boyfriend, squeezed his hand gently and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, bringing a slight smile to the brunettes face.

"It's okay…He'll come back. He always does." Chie said softly, leaning onto Yosuke's shoulder. Despite his constant complaints about Teddie, Yosuke had grown to see him as an annoying younger brother, and cared deeply for the blonde youth.

"I'm worried for Teddie myself, but let's trust in him and await his return." Naoto placed a hand on Souji's leg as she spoke up, squeezing the boy possessively as if worried he might disappear yet again. "Right now, we must concentrate on the case. It won't be long before Namatame is transferred to another location. We must hurry, or we will miss our only chance to get his perspective on this."

Souji nodded. "It occurred to me last night that Namatame said he'd saved you guys when he saw you." The silverette looked at the people around the table who'd been kidnapped. "If saving you involved your death, I don't think he'd have said that at all."

Naoto nodded; she hadn't thought of that. "Then, considering Namatame's words, it might be possible that he never meant to hurt Nanako-chan. However, that does not mean he's innocent of the kidnappings. And it's entirely possible he killed Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi as well."

Souji shook his head, and Yu spoke up. "I thought about that last night, but it doesn't make any sense. Namatame had a rock-solid alibi when Yamano died; I know you know that, Naoto-kun, Souji's told me. What made me stop and think was the warning letters we got." The team looked at the twins questioningly.

Souji reached into his pocket, producing a copy of the letter they'd received in October. "The message on this letter was 'don't rescue anymore'. Namatame's words and this letters message don't add up. If Namatame was the killer, this letter would have come from him. But let's entertain the possibility that it isn't him, and look at this differently." Souji placed the letter in the centre of the group, and Yu began to explain where his brother had left off.

"Like Souji said, Namatame said he'd saved you all when he saw you in the T.V. But this letter told us to stop rescuing people. The two just don't match up, especially when we consider that second letter we got." The group looked back and forth between the twins, waiting for more information; the two seemed to have a plan involved here, and were speaking as if this had been rehearsed. "The second letter said that if we didn't stop, someone else would be thrown in and killed. Someone close to us. That, of course was Nanako."

Souji reached into his robe, thinking hard of the letter he and Yu had received that fateful night. Dojima had taken it from him, but Souji hoped that his new connection to Morpheus might allow him to create a copy of the warning. He felt the texture of paper materialize in his hand, and sent a quick thank you to the Dream-lord as he placed the second letter on top of the first. "This was sent to us the night Nanako was kidnapped. But look closely at the phrasing. We were told if we didn't stop, someone would be thrown in. yet Nanako got thrown in that night, before we'd even had a chance to act on this letter. Why would Namatame send a warning, only to completely ignore it and act on the threat he'd written in instead?"

Kanji snorted derisively "Easy. Namatame's frickin' insane. That's all there is to it."

The others were nodding, but Naoto shook her head, catching on to what Souji and Yu were saying. "It's not just that. Look at how it's written. If the killer had written this, he wouldn't have worded it this way. It would likely be closer to 'I'll throw someone close in and kill them' rather than 'will be put in and killed'."

Souji nodded, grinning as Naoto explained her reasoning further; leave it to the Detective Prince to catch a seemingly small detail that changed the entire course of reasoning. "So, then, what does that mean?" Chie asked, looking confused. Souji looked at the martial artist with a wry smile; sometimes, Chie missed the blatantly obvious.

"That would mean that Namatame didn't write this" he said, tapping the letter. The rest of the group sat quietly, processing this newfound information.

"But only the killer would write such a letter and deliver it to Dojima-san's house, right? If someone else wrote it, that could only mean..." Yukiko spoke softly, thinking hard as she tried to find a new connection.

Rise looked confused. "So, does that mean Namatame really was trying to save his victims?"

Naoto looked around at the group. "Everything is exactly the opposite of what it first seemed...In Namatame's parlance, "failing" would have been the first two cases, when the victims died. If he had used his method twice, and failed both times, he would hardly have continued using the TV. And yet he did. It all seems to suggest that someone else wrote this warning letter while observing the entire case..."

Yosuke looked up in surprise. "Someone else...Then...It wasn't Namatame that killed Saki-senpai and the announcer!?" the brunette asked.

Naoto shrugged lightly in response. "We can't say for certain yet. We urgently need to speak with Namatame face to face..." Souji shifted in his seat, making movement as if to stand.

"Well, if we need to talk to him, we don't really have much time." The silverette looked at his girlfriend next. "I assume you already have a plan in place, right?" he asked, and Naoto smiled in response, producing a small black box.

"Of course I do."

Souji grinned widely; he was glad Naoto was smiling again. Last night had been…hectic. "Let's get going, then!" Souji offered his hand to Naoto, who took it as she stood up. The rest of the team stood as well, ready to go whenever. Souji nodded, and began walking towards the bus stop in the shopping district, Naoto at his side. As they walked, he thought about the night before…

* * *

 _Last Night..._

Souji narrowly dodged behind a wall as the book Naoto had been holding came flying past. _"At least it's a small one…"_ he thought wryly as another book hurtled towards him. The group had gotten back to Inaba fairly late, and Souji had insisted on walking Naoto home. They had arrived at her residence quickly, and the sleuth had offered to let him in for a while. Souji had accepted, and was just walking out of the restroom when he'd been hit in the head with a pillow from the detectives couch. The look on Naoto's face was not a playful one, so Souji had decided evasion was prudent as he tried to figure out what he'd done this time.

"Naoto, is there any specific reason you're lobbing books at my head?" he called out, and flinched as a heavy encyclopedia ricocheted off the edge of the wall he was hiding behind. Looking out quickly, he saw Naoto in the process of finding another object to throw, so the silver-haired teen took a chance and made a mad dash for the bathroom he'd just come out of, closing the door behind him. He'd apparently made it just in time, as a loud "THUNK" resonated through the door. The clattering of something heavy and made of plastic hitting the floor told Souji she'd moved from the bookshelf to somewhere else, probably the kitchen.

Naoto's voice came through over another assault against the bathroom door. "You know very well what you did, Senpai!" Souji smiled lightly at the use of the honorific title; Naoto couldn't have been beyond reason if she was calling him that.

"Well, knowing me, there's quite a bit I could have done." Souji spoke louder over the clattering of metal; what was Naoto throwing now? Souji thought hard. "Was it the ring?" He heard movement coming towards the bathroom, and decided that it might be wise to brace against the door. However, Naoto appeared to be picking up her ammunition, if the movement and clattering outside was any indication. Souji waited silently as Naoto quickly cleaned up, and cracked the door when it seemed she was done. Naoto stood facing the hallway with her arms crossed, shaking as the adrenaline that had fueled her ebbed away. Souji opened the door more and stepped out.

Naoto huffed as he walked towards her, and turned her head as he reached out to hold her. Souji brought her head to his chest and stroked her hair, whispering softly. "I'm sorry, Naoto. I wasn't anticipating leaving that day, and I really wasn't expecting to come back, either." He felt Naoto tense slightly as he talked, but she didn't say anything, so Souji continued. "I…had to make a decision…Morpheus is more different than I first thought. His power had a price. And when you and the others were under Kunino-sagiri's control…I got desperate." Souji felt his eyes water as he thought back to the battle that had cost him so much. "Morpheus was willing to help me save you…but if I did, I was going to disappear. If I didn't, you'd have died, and I couldn't see that as a choice at all…"

Souji's tears fell as his voice began to crack, and Naoto began to relax in his arms. "S-So I made my decision…you saw what happened. After I disappeared…I woke up somewhere else. It's hard to explain, b-but I had constant reminders of what I had been fighting for. In order to get back…I had to comply with Morpheus, or so I thought." Souji grew silent, thinking about the long hours of managing people's dreams, and the fight with his Persona. "In the end, I was able to free myself, and Morpheus relinquished his power to me. I can use his power without a cost now…After that, Morpheus returned me to the real world, where you found me…" Souji finished, squeezing Naoto a little tighter.

The sleuth finally relaxed fully, and wrapped her own arms around the silverette, speaking softly. "I'm sorry I got angry…I just…I thought you were gone, or dead, and that I'd never be able to see you again…and then, suddenly, there you were, standing in front of the hospital, and I didn't know what to think, or how to feel. I was happy, angry, sad, confused, and worried all at once…"

Souji chuckled softly through his tears. "Well, I doubt I'd have felt any different if it had been you instead of me…"

Naoto pushed the side of her face further into Souji's chest, feeling all her energy drain away as she let go of the feelings that had built up. Exhaustion kept her from crying more, and Souji's hand running over her hair was making her feel sleepy. "I like your robe…" she murmured quietly, feeling the soft fabric on her cheek. The silverette hadn't taken it off since he'd gotten back, and he smiled at Naoto's words.

"It was a gift and an apology from Morpheus. It's quite comfortable." Breaking away from the embrace, Souji led Naoto over to her couch, sitting down and holding her close to his side as she sat next to him.

The detective yawned as she laid her head on the boys shoulder, closing her eyes as Souji resumed stroking her hair softly. "Don't leave me again…" Naoto murmured softly, and she heard Souji's voice as if from far away as she drifted into sleep.

"Never…" he said quietly.

Souji waited for a while to allow Naoto to fall deep asleep before he picked her up to carry her to her bed. He laid the young girl down and covered her up, removing the tie she was wearing and draping it on a hanger in her closet. The silverette leaned down to peck her forehead, and quietly left the room after switching off her light. He entered the living room and looked around, deciding that he'd wake up a little early to clean up; there were still odds and ends lying about from Naoto's fit of rage. Sighing contentedly, Souji turned off the lights and laid down on the sleuths couch. It was too late to try to get back to the Dojima's anyways. The teen sat up and removed his robe before lying back down, wrapping the fabric around him like a blanket. He smiled as he began to fall asleep; he finally felt as if he was home.

* * *

 _Present Day..._

Namatame was finishing his explanation of his true involvement with the case to the Investigation team. The group had come to get his explanation, and after some mild convincing on Naoto's part, Namatame had begun talking. He spoke of seeing the Midnight Channel, of seeing Mayumi Yamano thrashing violently on the T.V., and that he could reach into the T.V just as the twins had done. He spoke of seeing the outline of Saki Konishi on the T.V, and his warning to the young high-schooler. Namatame explained that he'd tried to help them, but hadn't known how.

He then spoke of seeing Yukiko appear, and had decided that he would try to save her before anything happened, thus leading to his kidnapping her and throwing her into the T.V. He hadn't known of the dangers of the world, and when Yukiko had appeared safe and sound, Namatame had become convinced that it had worked, never realizing that Souji, Yu, Yosuke and Chie had rescued her from that world. So he'd continued, kidnapping those who appeared on the midnight channel and throwing them into the T.V, growing more zealous as he saw his plan working each time.

Naoto shook her head as Namatame asked if he hadn't been helping them. "If a person is still within the TV world when the fog appears here, they will die. Beginning with Yukiko-san, the people you thought you had been saving were, in fact, in mortal peril...It was my friends here who really saved us all."

Namatame looked down. "I had a feeling that was it...When I went after that little girl and entered the TV myself...For the first time, I had some doubts about myself…The police were after me, so I had to get away. But I still felt I needed to do everything I could to save that poor little girl...That's why I went after her. But the TV world was completely different than I imagined...Such an abominable, grotesque place. I knew that the three of you who I "saved" went back to your normal lives, so I didn't realize how terrible that world was. I never knew...you couldn't even get out of that place on your own...No, that's a cowardly way to put it. I'd probably already begun to realize that it was a dangerous place...If I hadn't, I wouldn't have gone to see you all."

The group thought back to the concert they had put on for Yosuke. Namatame explained how he'd felt at the time, but apologized as he told the team that he was beginning to feel tired. Naoto apologized in return, and the team left Namatame to rest, making their way back to Nanako's room.

"This was the last place we saw Teddie, right? He was so worried about her…" Chie looked around the room.

Kanji clicked his tongue. "Tch...How can he flake out like this when we have to find the real killer?" The team sighed; Teddie's disappearance had sapped the team's morale, the fact that Souji had disappeared before made this situation much more taxing.

"Y'know, maybe he felt really overwhelmed…" Rise spoke up, looking around at her friends. "I mean, Souji-senpai had disappeared, and Teddie was crying all last month about that. Then, Nanako-chan…" Rise choked on the young girl's name. "…Y'know…so maybe he ran away because he felt abandoned?"

Yosuke looked annoyed. "That's stupid, though! I mean, Souji came back, and we were all here. What would have made him think that he was alone?" No one had an answer, and Rise looked down at the floor, looking worried.

Yu crossed over to her and gave her a hug. "For now, we need to trust that Teddie's okay. If he did run away, maybe he'll come back. But we need to try to figure out who the real killer is" he said, comforting the idol.

Naoto nodded in agreement. "The police consider the matter closed. We'll have to do all the investigation from here on out. Let's revisit Saki-san and Ms. Yamano's incidents and see if we can turn up fresh details." The others, excluding Yu and Souji, sighed exasperatedly.

"But it's been over six months...Wouldn't the trail be cold by now?" Chie complained, looking puzzled.

Yosuke shook his head. "I know, but we can't give up. We're the only ones who understand what's really going on. And you never know. People might remember some things now because they've had so much time to think about it. Let's split up and talk to people all over town tomorrow. We'll meet up in the evening to discuss our findings." The brunette looked around the room, seeing everyone agreeing with him.

"I hope we can find out something about Teddie, too..." Yukiko said.

Rise looked up at the girl and nodded. "I'll try asking around about him while we look." The team looked back at Nanako.

"We have to find the killer…for the sake of all the victims" Yu said quietly.


	29. The Seekers of Truth

The team spent a long afternoon roaming the streets of Inaba, asking anyone that would listen about the murders from earlier that year, or about Teddie. Rise in particular had to put up with an obstinate fan who ignored her questions in lieu of asking his own. Eventually, after coming to the determination that there was nothing to be gained from further questioning, they met up at Aiya's. Chie groaned as she sat at the table next to the bar. "I'm seriously pooped." Souji had to admit, the martial artist looked exhausted, as did they all.

Chie looked at Naoto sympathetically. "This stuff's a lot harder when you don't have a badge to flash...I walked around all day and didn't hear anything good" she said, nodding appreciatively at the sleuth. She, along with the twins and Yosuke, had taken a seat at the bar and was now facing the others, who were sitting at Chie's table so as to make communication easier. Yukiko shook her head and slumped a bit in her chair, an uncharacteristic action for the young innkeeper.

"It was the same for me. There was absolutely no talk about the case whatsoever, let alone the true culprit."

Rise mentioned her struggle with many people bombarding her with questions instead, and the team collectively sighed. Yosuke leaned back against the bar. "What should we do…?" he asked tiredly to no one in particular. Chie looked thoughtful for a moment, then a small smile flashed onto her face as she turned into her chair to look at the restaurant's owner.

"One steak bowl, please!" yelled the martial artist, earning a smile from the owner/chef and a reproachful glare from her boyfriend.

"That's not what I meant…" he started, but breathed deeply as he rubbed his face with his hands. "Then again, I guess we might as well take a break...I'll have a crab and egg fried rice." Yosuke turned around to the bar as he ordered, with Kanji ordering a bowl of roast pork ramen, with extra noodles. The rest of the team placed their respective orders, and waited in silence until their food came.

They began to make small talk as they ate, unconsciously deciding to avoid the topic of their search. The four at the bar were discussing the upcoming holidays; Yosuke seemed to have something in mind, but refused to elaborate on the subject. Naoto had to lean in close to Souji in order to hear the brunette's words, not that Souji minded having Naoto closer to him. Chie, Yukiko, and Rise had taken to teasing Kanji, whose gentle demeanour provided a seemingly endless source of ammunition. Despite having opened up to the twins (the tall youth had decided to hold "Oven Mitt Puppets 101" in their room after coming to terms with himself), Kanji still felt embarrassed on the subject of his hobbies. The group finished their meal, and Chie spoke up first, returning to the topic of their search. After everyone had shared their information, the martial artist appeared glum.

"So, to sum up: There really was no new information...The end?" Chie looked around, hoping someone smarter might have seen something she didn't.

Naoto shook her head in frustration as the martial artist glanced at her. "The police had an unusually large number of officers in their initial investigation of the first two incidents. To find facts that even they overlooked would be difficult indeed, now that over half a year has passed. There wasn't a single report of suspicious persons being witnessed to begin with...Ms. Yamano had ardent fans whereas Saki-san didn't, but otherwise the conditions are the same." Souji nodded in agreement. He'd even called up some of the officers at the department that he'd befriended, but they'd had no new information to provide him with. He had silently thanked whatever god was watching over him that they hadn't asked questions; the teen assumed that the officers thought he was picking up another case they'd thought was closed, as he was wont to do.

Yosuke shifted in his seat to look at Naoto. "Do you have anything, Naoto? Any new, uh...deductions?" The sleuth sighed exasperatedly as she answered him. She mumbled something about needing fresh air, and headed outside, exposing the group to a blast of cold as she opened the door to the restaurant. The twins looked at each other, silver eyes meeting silver-gold: the blue flecks Souji had seen in The Velvet Room had been the reflection of the room's interior lighting, much to the boys chagrin. As if communicating telepathically, the two stood up, claiming that they would also be heading outside. Yosuke, feeling left out, made as if to follow them before being held back by Chie, who had decided she wanted to ask the brunette something.

The twins moved outside, feeling the chill in the air as they joined Naoto on the sidewalk. Yu had had the foresight to bring along a heavier jacket than normal after watching the weather report, and he placed the large white coat around his shoulders now, feeling the warmth return to his cold-shocked body. Souji was shivering slightly, suddenly wishing that Morpheus' robe had a little more insulation. As if in response to his thoughts, the cloth began moving on its own, changing quickly into a stylish blue-and-gold winter coat. Naoto and Yu noticed, raising their eyebrows at Souji, but said nothing, mutually deciding that whatever had happened with Morpheus had thrown the idea of impossibility out the window.

They heard the door open behind them, and Yosuke shuffled out, holding his arms as he attempted to retain whatever heat he could. "Brr…It's freezing out here" complained the Junes Prince, looking at his compatriots' coats jealously.

Naoto shook her head with a smile. "It's snowing…no wonder it's so cold."

The boys looked at the sky in surprise, seeing the flakes of snow falling lightly. Although it had fallen in Okina, the snow hadn't reached Inaba that night, marking this as the towns' first snowfall. "Maybe this'll help clear my head and get my deductive muscles flexing…too bad the fog's so thick. I bet the snow's really pretty." Yosuke looked back at the street ahead of him as he finished, followed by Yu and Souji as they too stared off into the distance. In conjunction, the boys' faces furrowed. Just out of reach, they could sense the answer. "What's the matter?" Yosuke asked, noticing the change in his friends' looks. Naoto turned too, looking quizzically at the silverettes, head tilted slightly.

The twins thought hard. Whoever the killer was, they had to have had contact with both Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi. They also knew about the T.V world, if the warning letters were anything to go by. There was also the fact that no one had seen a single suspicious person around town, unless you accounted for Namatame, who was the subject of the townsfolks ire. Whoever the killer was, they'd either been unnoticed, or they were a familiar face around town. Souji's eyes widened as another fact struck him. The killer had to be able to approach Dojima's house to deliver the letters, without raising suspicion, and only a handful of people would be capable of doing that. In fact, almost every single one of them was in the immediate vicinity. Yu and Souji looked at each other in alarm. _It couldn't be…_ They thought quickly. It seemed impossible, but also entirely possible at the same time. He'd been at the house many times; hell, the twins had invited him over for dinner before. He'd helped Nanako with her homework, and had offered some good advice to the twins on occasion, albeit with strange undertones the boys found uncomfortable. But as they thought about it, the idea seemed more and more promising. He'd easily be able to show up at their uncle's home without raising suspicion, and his job would have put him in the prime position to have access to Saki and Yamano. Not to mention he was largely responsible for informing the team of movements around town, seemingly on accident.

" _But was it an accident?"_ Souji thought.

He'd also be able to keep any evidence pointing towards himself from seeing the light of day, not to mention he'd seemed very panicked when they'd apprehended that peeping tom outside Marukyu Tofu. But why? The twins created a close bond with him over the course of the year, even developing an Arcana from the relationship. Souji and Yu felt loathe to speak his name, but the desire to find the killer outweighed the momentary lapse of resolve. "Tohru Adachi…" they said in unison, earning surprised looks from Yosuke and Naoto.

"Detective Adachi...A member of the police force...That is an interesting approach. It would certainly explain the lack of witness reports...It's the same reason no one ever reported seeing Namatame's truck."

Yosuke shook his head. "This is a small town, so everyone must've known who he is. And since he's a detective, people definitely wouldn't have thought of him as being suspicious."

Naoto nodded absently at the brunettes words. "In fact, he could use his position to his advantage and hide critical information." She spoke determinedly, wheels inside her mind turning faster and faster.

"Huh...Well, if you think of it that way, I guess it's possible..." Yosuke mumbled, but sighed as he rubbed his eyes. "But we're talking about Adachi here, right? I mean really, Adachi? He's your textbook lousy detective... Are we really on the right track here...?"

Naoto turned to the three boys, an odd look on her face. "Actually...regarding Detective Adachi...I'm not sure how to put it, but there's something that's been bothering me about him for some time now..."

Naoto didn't finish, letting loose a small sneeze. Souji looked at her with concern. "Let's head back inside and warm up. We can talk about it more without catching a cold." The others nodded, and filed back inside the Chinese restaurant to inform the team of their possible discovery.

* * *

"...What are you all doing here?" Dojima looked questioningly at the assembled Investigation Team surrounding Adachi. They had gone to the hospital after Naoto had checked for the detective's current location, and had found him in the East wing.

"We came to confirm something...with Adachi-san." Yosuke said, crossing his arms in front of him as he glared at the man in question. Without waiting for a response, Souji and Yu began barraging him with questions about Yamano and Saki, causing the detective to stutter helplessly in response. A question about the warning letter caused Adachi to falter even more, and the detective claimed to have forgotten about it.

Dojima turned to his partner angrily. "Hey, whaddya mean you don't remember? I gave it to you to take down to the crime lab for processing. You're telling me you forgot!?"

Adachi looked uncomfortable. "Ha...haha, I'm sorry...Your accident was right after that, and what with one thing and another, it sorta slipped my mind...B-Besides, that thing was just a prank, wasn't it?" The look on the Adachi's face turned into one of extreme annoyance, almost one of anger. "Geez, what're you asking me all this for!? For crying out loud, what's this all supposed to be about!? Dojima-san, you really need to get back to your bed. That's why your wounds aren't healing. And you all need to go home right now! Do you have any idea what time it is!?" The detective made as if to leave as he claimed to be heading to the station, but the intimidating figure that was Kanji halted the detective in his tracks, sweating nervously as the tall boy glared down at the smaller man.

"Just one more thing, please." Naoto spoke politely, and Souji grinned in spite of himself at the sleuth's habitual use of manners. "We know for certain now that the first two murders weren't Namatame's doing. Someone else killed them. Adachi-san...Do you have any idea who that might be?" Adachi looked incredibly flustered at Naoto's questioning, stammering out a weak denial.

Kanji looked hard at the detective, uncrossing his arms as he did so. "'Cause we think it mighta been you" he said menacingly, taking a step towards Adachi.

The detective's face contorted in angry fear, and spoke loudly. "What!? Th-That's ridiculous! We already know Namatame's the one who put them all in!" Adachi had slipped up, and the grin that had adorned Souji's face turned into a malicious frown, eyebrows coming down low, making the teen look ferocious. Yu held a similar look, and moved closer.

"What did you just say…?" the silverette asked quietly, knowing that they had just received their confession.

"Put them all in...? What's this "putting them in" business? Do you know something about the method behind their murders...? Don't tell me all that talk about TVs and whatnot from before was..." Dojima looked between the teens and Adachi suspiciously, his gaze lingering on his partner for longer than the teens.

"I see...Now I finally understand. To tell the truth, Adachi-san, I've been fixated on something you once said. Before, I didn't know why...Only that it sounded a wrong note to me." Naoto placed her right hand on her waist, making as if to speak, but Souji's voice spoke out just as she finished, and the sleuth remained silent as the team's leader spoke.

"Y'know, I've been wondering about what you said that night, back at the roadside. You remember, don't you? Naoto had just pulled out Namatame's journal, reading off the list of victims. I believe you said, 'Wow...Then that settles it'. I'd love to know what you meant by that, Adachi-san, because I fail to see how that 'settles' a damned thing." Souji's voice grew a bit louder, and the Investigation Team grinned in spite of the situation; it had been quite some time since they'd witnessed Souji rant, and were somewhat glad it wasn't directed at them for once.

"A list of names means nothing, regardless of what those names are. For all you knew, those names could have been Namatame keeping records of the people that had disappeared. We know now that most of the names on that list had been of people that Namatame had kidnapped, but two of them are out of place. Not to mention that, at the time, the police hadn't known of _any_ other attempted murders at the time. After all, it's not uncommon for people to go missing for a few days at a time around here. I should know, I'm the one sorting the paperwork involving such cases!" Souji glared at Adachi, and as he spoke, he reached into the interior of his robe-jacket, and produced the journal. Morpheus' power was coming in handy in a way Souji was starting to love. "The names in question are of Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi, Detective Adachi. The reason they're in question is that Namatame had never kidnapped or harmed either person. Much to the contrary, he had no connection to Yamano's death, and had tried to warn Saki Konishi on a hunch. The first person he kidnapped is standing here right now!"

Yukiko shifted on her feet, slightly uncomfortable, but kept her gaze focused on Adachi.

"So what does that mean to you, Adachi?!" Souji finished his rant, and continued to stare daggers at the man he'd believed to be his friend. Adachi's response was to run away, down the hall towards Namatame's old room. The team followed him, Dojima yelling behind them at Adachi as they ran. They burst into the room, but Adachi was nowhere in sight. After a quick round of questioning, the teens determined that he had escaped through the large T.V, the same one they had contemplated throwing Namatame into a few days earlier. "We'll wait until tomorrow." Souji said, thinking about the warning Teddie had given them so long ago. A thought struck him as he thought of the bear, and resolved to follow that line of thought later.

Dojima entered as he finished speaking. "Did you find him?" asked the elder detective, scowling as the team reported their results. "That bastard...Ungh..." Dojima winced and held his side. Luckily, one of the stubborn man's many nurses had followed the detective's trail of questions, and ran in. She escorted Dojima back to his room, chastising him for opening his wounds again, and the team stared silently after him.

* * *

"What in the world are you doing?" Yu asked, looking at his brother as if he were crazy. Souji sat at the tea table back at home, jacket hanging on the wall at the entrance.

"I'm testing a theory…" Souji murmured quietly. In front of him was a stack of tarot cards, and the boy had been staring at them for the better part of an hour, not moving himself or the cards.

Yu shook his head; Souji wasn't making any sense. "Are you going to enlighten me as to what this theory entails, or am I gonna have to play twenty questions?"

Souji gave his brother a wry smile before turning his attention back to the deck of cards in front of him. He closed his eyes as he focused on the image in his head. "To put it simply, I'm searching for something that's been lost" he said cryptically, earning an exasperated sigh from his brother.

"Well, let me know when you find him, Igor-san." muttered Yu, sitting on the couch and leaning his head back. Souji smiled at the reference to the master of The Velvet Room, but pushed the image out of his mind as he focused harder. Slowly, he reached out to hover his hand over the deck of cards. He lowered his arm until his fingers touched the deck, and a deft movement had spread them evenly across the table. As the image in his mind became ever sharper, Souji moved his hand across the line of cards slowly, stopping as he reached a card midway between the middle and the right end. He gingerly lifted the card up, and the image flashed brightly in his minds' eye. The silverette's mouth broke into a large grin as he opened his eyes, looking at the face of the card in his hand.

"Found him…" he murmured, gazing at the image of the Star Arcana on the card in his hand; he'd been right in asking Margaret if there were any spare decks of cards, like the ones Igor used for his own fortune telling.

"Found who now?" Yu asked, looking at his brother intently.

Souji turned to look at Yu, showing him the card in his hand. "I found Teddie" he said simply.

Yu looked shocked, and stood up quickly. "Where?" he asked, a note of urgency in his voice. Souji chuckled; Yu's face was fairly amusing to look at currently.

"Well, he's definitely not anywhere on earth, nor is he in the T.V world." Souji grinned slyly as he continued. "I suppose you could say he's currently between dream and reality, mind and matter."

Yu groaned softly, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Of course, no wonder we couldn't find him." The youth sighed heavily. "I suppose that means we should head off to dreamland then."

Souji nodded, feeling tired as Yu mentioned sleep. "That's usually a good idea, regardless of the situation."

Yu laughed softly. "You know what, why not try it next time we're facing down hordes of shadows. Maybe they'll ignore us if we're asleep." Souji laughed with his brother, standing up as he did so. The twins cleaned up the cards from the table, gingerly placing them on the table near the kitchen before heading upstairs to sleep, and hopefully find Teddie.


	30. The Return of The Fuzzy

The twins felt a wave of nausea pass through them as The Velvet Room came into focus; it always felt odd whenever they entered through their dreams. Looking around the limousine, they noticed that Igor, Margaret, and Marie were nowhere to be seen. However, sitting on the couch where Yu normally sat was an ethereal image. As the twins minds began to normalize, the image became more focused, and they recognized it immediately. "Teddie!" Yu shouted, voice louder than he'd meant it to be.

The bear-boy looked up in surprise, large lens-eyes seeming to widen at the sight of the twins. "Yu-sensei? Souji-sensei? What are you guys doing here?" Teddie looked thoughtful for a moment. "Umm, actually, where is here?" Souji grinned, and the twins moved forward to embrace their friend, surprising Teddie.

Souji pulled away, looking at the youth warmly. "Well, Ted, I guess you could say you're in a dream of ours."

Teddie looked amazed, but a crestfallen look quickly overcame him. "I see...How mysterious...There are so many things I don't know about. But I did realize something..." Teddie shook his head sadly. "I've been thinking all this time...about who I really am. But I couldn't find the answer...I was "no one" from the start...Humans live in the other world, and Shadows live in this world...From the beginning...That's all there was to it. I was just a Shadow in that world..."

Yu patted the boy on the head. "Hey now, none of that kind of talk. Come on, everyone's worried."

Teddie began to tear up at Yu's words, but continued with his speech. "I figured something out...That day at the hospital, I realized that I really can't do anything. As soon as I thought that, I lost consciousness...Then when I woke up, I was inside the fog. Shadows can't stay in the human world...They aren't allowed. I walked and walked, but there was nothing all around me...Just when I started thinking that I couldn't go anywhere, I heard the noise of a car...And then I was here. I remember lots of things now...My world is a place shaped by human thoughts...One day, a Shadow living in that world awakened to human emotions. But humans and Shadows are completely different entities...So he made himself forget that he was a Shadow..."

Teddie choked a bit as he took a breath. "He wanted to forget...He wanted people to like him...And that's how he came to look like this. I really am stupid. What the other Teddie said before...In the end, it was all true. No matter how much I search for myself, I have no self. There was no me to begin with...I'm just a Shadow that took a different form so humans would like me...It would've been better if I had never remembered, but I did...I'll probably turn back to a regular Shadow soon..." Teddie broke into a quiet sob. "Oh yeah, Sensei's. One day, when you meet Nana-chan in heaven...Apologize for me...Tell her...I'm sorry I couldn't do anything...Tell her I'm really sorry..."

The twins looked at each other, hearts breaking at the bear's painful words. "Teddie…" Souji kneeled down to look at Teddie in the eyes. "Nanako's all better. You saved her, Ted. She's alive and fighting for recovery."

Teddie jerked up, trembling at the news about the young girl. "Huh...? R-Really!? Nana-chan's...Wow...That's wonderful...I'm so glad... Heehee...My heart feels so much lighter now." Teddie yawned loudly. "I'm starting to get sleepy...What a strange place. It feels so soothing...It's not like my world...Something just feels so nostalgic about this place."

Souji nodded sagely. "This place appears to be unique. I've never seen a place quite like it. Even when I disappeared."

Teddie nodded. "I don't really understand, and I don't know exactly where to go from here…"

Yu smiled widely, and he began to laugh softly. "Well, let's move on together then." The silverette tilted his head slightly. "Come back to us soon, Teddie. We need you."

The bear-boy nodded, and the room flashed as Kintoki-Douji evolved, turning into a large circular…thing. There really wasn't a good way to describe the new Persona, Souji realized. Teddie smiled, and began to fade away. The room blurred, and suddenly, the twins saw the Velvet Room's usual residents sitting in their respective thoughts. Igor smiled devilishly at the twins. "Hmm…It seems that the words in your memory weren't the only things the two of you summoned here…" He chuckled softly. "This is a room for guests who have an ego that can be nurtured...Shadows-mere fragments broken off from the ego-have no place here. The water's strength has moved a single stone that had stopped, returning it once again into the flow...Very interesting." Igor's meaningful smile didn't escape Souji's notice, and he thought back to Teddie's words, that he was a Shadow like the ones they'd been fighting.

The limousine began moving, and Souji realized he hadn't known that the vehicle had ever stopped. "You are every inch the guests I had anticipated. Now, it's time for you to return." Igor waved his hand, and the twins' vision began to blur. "I am even more intrigued now as to where this is all headed." They heard the soft voice of Margaret saying goodbye, and Yu thought he saw Marie look away sadly. He didn't get a chance to check as the room faded from their minds, and the twins drifted into blissful unconsciousness.

* * *

The team was assembled inside the T.V. The boys had shifted the exit T.V's over to the side, and Rise stood in their place, Kanzeon scanning intently for a sign of Adachi. "I sense him! Adachi's definitely in here. Hold on…"

Rise's voice tapered off, and Naoto closed her eyes in thought. "Well, that settles it. There's virtually no doubt remaining that he's the true culprit. Once we capture him, solving the mystery of this world and the rest of the case can't be far behind." The others nodded.

Chie looked worried. "Then...maybe we'll find out where Teddie came from, too. Man, where is that bear, anyway...?"

Rise shook her head. "Well...I can say for sure he's not here. And I know Adachi is here, but I can't track him down myself..." Kanzeon disappeared as Rise's frustration got the better of her. "Gee, Ted! Why aren't you here when we need you most!?"

* * *

 _At the Okina Hospital_

Teddie opened his eyes. The blonde youth was standing in Nanako's room, right next to the ailing girl's bed. "This place…" Teddie looked downcast. "I see...I...came back. But it really doesn't matter...I'm completely useless...Nana-chan...I'm so sorry..." As Teddie began to cry, a stirring from Nanako's direction caught his attention.

"Teddie?" Nanako's voice was soft and hoarse. "It is you...Teddie...I heard...your voice...You said...hang in there...I heard...my big bro...and everyone else, too..."

Teddie's eyes widened in shock. "N-Nana-chan!? Hold on, I'll get the doctor!" The youth rushed out of the room, finding Nanako's doctor in the nearby waiting room. The two hurried back, and the Doctor bent over Nanako, examining her intently. After a few minutes, he stood back up; Nanako had fallen back to sleep. "U-Um, Nana-chan told me that she heard my voice...She heard me say, 'Hang in there'..." Teddie looked at the doctor curiously as he spoke.

The elderly gentleman nodded. "It could be that her frankly miraculous recovery was because everyone's voices reached her. Even unconscious people are capable of hearing others' voices. In any case, there are too many things we don't understand about her condition and what caused it. We're doing our best, but it's difficult when everything about her illness is a total unknown."

Teddie mumbled the last word the doctor spoke softly, thinking about himself. The doctor gave the youth a winning smile. "Well, if anything happens, please send for me..." He turned and left the room, already intent on the next patient he was to see. So many people had come complaining of fog-borne illnesses.

Teddie watched the door close, and looked back at Nanako. "If I'm an unknown being, then the way I can change is unknown too…" Teddie looked up with a determined look on his face. "So all I have to do...is make them not-unknown. Nana-chan's doing her best...Sensei and the others are probably fighting now too...I...I'm just a Shadow, but Nana-chan cheered up when she heard my voice...So what if I'm just a Shadow...!? There must be something I can do! I can't just give up thinking about things...That's why I came back here. Right, Nana-chan...?" Teddie nodded to himself. "Right, I need to get back to the others. Hang in there, Nana-chan!" Teddie rushed out of the room, heading towards the bus stop, and towards Junes.

* * *

The Investigation team sat around the usual spot wearily. Rise was leaning against Yu's shoulder, eyes closed as she tried to regain some energy from the exertion she'd put forth searching for Adachi. Yu looked at her lovingly, but concern was strong in his eyes. "If only Teddie was here" he murmured softly, stroking his girlfriend's cheek with the back of his hand. The idol purred softly, and leaned in closer. The others smiled at the innocence the two teens displayed in their affections, remembering the long day it had been when they'd saved Rise from her shadow.

Souji turned to look at Naoto, who hadn't been there, but the sleuth was smiling all the same, a longing look in her eyes. Despite having cast away her reservations upon Souji's return, Naoto had returned to her usual behaviour regarding public affection, though now she was comfortable with holding Souji's hand when they were out. Souji reached down and took her hand in his own, squeezing gently. The detective blushed slightly at the contact, but turned to give her boyfriend an appreciative smile as she returned the pressure.

Yosuke put his arm around Chie's shoulder, causing the martial artist to blush a bit as well, but leaned in close to the boy she'd come to love deeply over the past 12 months. Kanji and Yukiko smiled softly at the rest of the group, and unconsciously shifted closer together. The teens enjoyed the tender moment for a while, savouring the small measure of peace.

Rise opened her eyes, meaning to look up at Yu, but tensed as she saw a familiar shape standing behind one of the signs in the food court. She stood up hurriedly, causing the others to jump at the movement. "Teddie?! Is that you?!" The boy came out from his hiding spot, dressed in his suit. Yosuke began to stutter, fuming as he tried to ask his friend where he'd been.

"I-I'm sorry…" he began, but was quickly silenced as Rise bear-hugged the bear, sobbing loudly as she let go of her worry for the young boy.

"You idiot! Bad bear! Bad!" she cried, making Teddie blush profusely under his suit.

"Uh…Rise-chan, are you faking?" he asked, a bit bewildered.

The idol shook her head vigorously. "No, stupid!" she said, backing away from her dear friend. Kanji and Chie shifted over to allow the bear-boy to squeeze in.

"I'm sorry. I figured out a lot of things. Stuff about me...and that world. I wanted to tell you all..." The group sat in silence as they listened to Teddie's confession, about where he'd been and what he'd discovered.

As he finished, Yosuke piped up. "Wait...You say you're a Shadow, but you didn't attack us. And you kept telling us from the start that you wanted to bring peace and quiet back to that world, right?"

Teddie nodded, looking at the brunette sadly. "But in the end...I was just an ordinary Shadow. Nothing special about me at all. I did everything I could until now to try and make my world peaceful...But instead, the weird fog started seeping out into this world too...I'm sorry...I'm really sorry. If I really was special, then maybe..."

Yosuke began to laugh out loud, causing Souji and Yu to snicker quietly. "It's no big deal. I mean, we weren't expecting much from you in the first place. And about you being a Shadow, we pretty much figured you were something like that anyway."

Teddie seemed taken aback, and became frustrated as he insisted that "No normal person would think such a pretty bear could really be a Shadow!"

Kanji snorted, thinking back to his own experiences. "So what's wrong with being a shadow?" Teddie turned to look at Kanji, but couldn't find an answer.

He then turned to Naoto as she spoke up. "It's true that you may have been born that way. But you now possess the power of Persona. A Shadow is suppressed power...Once controlled by the ego, it becomes a Persona...Doesn't it follow, then, that you must have developed an ego? Whether the ego masters its Shadow, or the Shadow awakens to its ego... The only difference I see is the order in which the process occurred."

Souji nodded. "At first, we had no idea what you were. But as we explored Yukiko's and Kanji's…worlds…it wasn't hard to come to the conclusion. Like Naoto said, you have a Persona. Remember what happened when we fought Shadow Rise? Your power suddenly spiked tremendously, because you made a decision to protect something. And the reason you did so was because that something was important to you. You developed real emotions, and in so doing, you changed."

Yu nodded, and decided to speak up as well. "Your Persona is reminiscent of the story of Kintaro. Kintaro was massively powerful, and used that power to protect his friends and to help others. You're not so different, Ted. Whenever we go into the T.V, it's always you who rushes in to heal one of us if we get hurt, and even while doing that, you're obliterating shadows left and right. We've met some powerful shadows in there, but none of them had such emotions, nor did they ever care about their comrades."

Chie smiled as Yu finished. "Oh! Teddie's practically human, then."

The bear-boy could barely speak. "I-I'm...the same as humans...?"

Yosuke nodded sagely. "You keep trying to figure out who you are, just like all of us here. You can't do much on your own...You really aren't that special...See? What's so different between you and us?" He smiled as he continued. "The rest of us were pretty much a group of misfits to begin with too, right? You fit right in, man."

Naoto turned to give the brunette a nonplussed look. "I beg your pardon? Who are you calling a misfit?" Rise turned as well, teasing the boy about his own status as a misfit. The team shared a laugh, and Yosuke turned to Teddie.

"Anyways, while you were gone, we figured out who the real killer is. It's Adachi!"

Teddie looked bewildered, and couldn't help but laugh at the news. "Huh!? Adachi!? That total goofball!? Whoa...I didn't notice at all. Looks like I'm pretty blind to that sort of thing..." The youth shook his head. "Mmm...But you all know him...If you can't find someone like that, I don't think I can help you..."

Yosuke grinned. "Well, like I said, we're not expecting much from you."

Kanji nodded, giving Teddie a playful punch on his suit's shoulder. "The main thing is, it's hard to get pumped about this without someone nice 'n fuzzy around." The group agreed, laughing as Teddie tried unsuccessfully tried to hide his head.

"Alright, let's take it from the top, first thing tomorrow!" Yosuke said, and the group gave a loud cheer, ready to bring the fight to Adachi, and solve the case once and for all.


	31. The World of a Murderer

The team sat staring at the entryway in front of them. Two days had passed since Teddie's return, and they'd managed to find Adachi with his help. However, upon encountering the detective, they discovered he was intent on toying with them, as he hadn't even bothered to meet with them personally, using a very convincing image instead to communicate. They had left soon after, deciding it would be better to prepare before entering the world Adachi had cooked up for them. However, Souji and Yu had decided to pay him a visit later that night, and had come out worse for their encounter.

Yosuke had also caught them, feeling hurt that the twins had shown a lack of trust in their comrades, but a hearty assurance from the team leader that they hadn't intended on fighting him, but had tried to seek out a peaceful resolution instead brought the brunette's spirits back up. However, they stood ready to finish what they'd started almost 9 months ago.

Each member stood, grim determination on everyone's faces. Yu chuckled slightly in spite of the serious determination. Souji turned to his brother, raising his eyebrow as he did so. Yu shook his head as he recovered from his outburst. "Sorry…" he began, "but I just realized that we'll have Adachi behind bars, and this whole mess cleared up before Christmas"

Souji sighed in response; it had been a long time since Yu had made such an off-color joke. "I suppose you mean to say that it's a nice gift?" he asked, and his brother nodded once in response, face returning to the stalwart look it had held before. Souji shrugged, then looked around once more at his friends. They'd all come so far over the past year.

Yosuke gave his friend a quick grin, spinning his Nata in his hands. Chie tapped her foot impatiently, ready to be on the move. Yukiko had her eyes closed, appearing to be lost in thought…or simply just lost; Souji still had a hard time telling with the innkeeper. Kanji cracked his knuckles, nodding at his closest friend and leader as he conveyed a silent message of loyalty. Rise gave Souji a winning smile before returning her attention to Yu, whispering to him. For his part, Yu was nodding in answer to the idol, not willing to be rude but eager to begin the trek.

Souji's gaze rested on Naoto. The detective was leaning against the wall next to the door, eyes opening as she sensed someone watching her. She gave her boyfriend a small smile and moved to stand with the rest of the group, coming to rest at Souji's left side. Yu moved to his brother's right, the others falling in behind him. Souji turned back to face the portal once more, breathing deeply. Wordlessly, he stepped forward, and Yu and his friends silently followed him into Adachi's world.

* * *

"Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil." Yu planted the hilt of his katana in the face of a shadow, dazing it as he turned to strike at another. Izanagi stabbed the dazed shadow, quickly destroying it as Yu continued to fight.

"Dude, are you seriously quoting scripture right now?!" Yosuke was riding on the back of a large golem as he yelled at Yu, stabbing his Nata into the shadow's back, and directed it to rampage through a mass of shadows that were beginning to surround Chie and Yukiko.

"Thanks, handsome!" Chie yelled as Yosuke rode past, earning a quick grin while the brunette looked for more mayhem to wreak.

Kanji was back to back with Teddie, and the two appeared to be enjoying the fight they were in; Teddie had been hanging out with Kanji too much again. The ex-punk raised his metal plate high, twirling it around him as Rokuten Maoh sent massive bolts of lightning down at the mass of shadows in front of him. "Now this is more like it!" he yelled. "A real brawl doesn't begin until you've got your back to a wall!" Teddie growled at the shadows in front of him, and Kamui burst forth like a train, freezing every shadow in sight before crushing them into dust.

"The Teddie legend never dies!" yelled the teen in triumph, earning a star-struck look from Yukiko.

"A legend, really?!" she said in wonder, causing Chie to snort at her friends amazement.

"Not that kind of legend, Yukiko!" she said as she directed Suzuka-Gongen to attack the line of shadows closing in behind Yu. The silverette was finishing off another shadow when he looked around.

"Yo, where's Souji and Naoto?" he asked, ignoring the shadow that appeared on his left; Izanagi would make quick work of it. Yu saw the two teens in question fending off three massive Minotaurs. Swearing silently under his breath, he began to run towards his brother, but stopped as more shadows appeared in front of him. "Yosuke!" he yelled, jumping backwards as the lion-like creature swiped at him. The brunette, having destroyed his ride by running it repeatedly into a wall, ran over to support his friend, and cast Garudyne to distract their opponent. Yu wondered how things were going on Souji's end as he slashed at the shadow, forcing it to move backwards. As if in response, a bright flash appeared out of nowhere, and Yu looked up momentarily to see Morpheus and Yamato Takeru casting twin Megidolaons.

The Minotaurs looked up, distracted by the spells barreling down on them. The moment of distraction afforded Souji and Naoto the time they needed, and as Naoto fired off round after round at their foes, Souji dashed forward, body low to the ground as he held his Tonfa behind him. The silverette leapt up at the first Minotaur, stabbing his blades deep into the monsters gut. He leapt off quickly, flipping over to the next one. He slashed twice, rendering the shadow immobile as Souji cut the tendons in its legs. Souji danced backwards as the Megidolaons that he and Naoto had cast struck the two monsters, obliterating them into dust. The third Minotaur looked shaken, and Souji and Naoto threw themselves at the shadow, Naoto firing her gun point-blank into the creature's head while Souji plunged his blades into its legs.

"Cry havoc!" yelled the silverette as he slashed wildly at the Minotaur, further weakening it. The Shadow dissipated quickly, and the two teens stood still for a moment, gathering their breath as they observed the battle their friends were engaged in. It seemed that most of the shadow horde was gone, with only a few stragglers continuing their mindless fight.

"Seriously, what's with these things?" Souji asked, wiping his forehead with his jacket sleeve; the robe had changed into a comfortable light jacket, allowing Souji to move unimpaired.

Naoto shook her head, steadying her breath before she answered. "It seems that Adachi's world contains many strong shadows. It's no surprise that we're facing so many as well, since I imagine that he has control over everything here."

The rest of the group joined them, having finished off the last of the shadows from their latest fight. The team decided a short break might do them some good, and they sat down as Souji called for the Fox, who appeared after a short while. As Souji paid for the creatures services, Yu looked around, observing the world they had entered.

At first, the Shadows had been relatively easy, but when Adachi had halted their progress forward, the team had been forced to find an alternate route. They had found a new world within the old one, and the shadows here appeared to be on a very different level from the ones they had been facing. Yu thanked the Fox as it pressed a leaf against the teen's bare hand, and the silverette shuddered as he felt energy rush back through him, replacing his exhaustion with fervor.

The Investigation Team had traveled through five layers of this new realm successfully, and had just finished fighting an impressive metal golem on the sixth when a horde of shadows had appeared as if from nowhere. Rise spoke up, drawing the group's attention. "Something feels different now" the idol said. "I think we should go back to the other place where Adachi cut us off and try again."

Souji nodded, and rummaged through the small sack he carried with him. The others all stood, and gathered around their leader as he produced a small crystal; a Goho-M. "Alright, then let's head back there." Souji held the crystal above his head as the group all grabbed on, and the crystal flashed brightly before teleporting the teens.

* * *

If the battle before had been hard, it was nothing compared to what they were now facing. The Investigation Team was facing Adachi, but the detective had another secret to reveal. That secret took the form of a red and orange version of Yu's Persona, and flew straight at the team before they had a chance to react. By sheer luck, Souji managed to avoid most of the attack, but was still thrown back as the enemy Persona flew by. The silverette groaned as he sat back up, and scrambled backwards as a pillar of fire erupted in front of him.

Looking around, he saw three large shadows floating just behind Adachi, each wielding long-barreled revolvers. The tip of one revolver was smoking as the new enemies floated slowly towards the Investigation team, which was struggling to hold off the powerful blows that Adachi's Persona, Magatsu-Izanagi, continued to throw at them. "Guys, look out!" Souji yelled, pushing himself to his feet.

Rise looked around at the teens words, and saw the new threat. She scanned them quickly, and began shaking slightly as she informed the team. "Guys, these shadows are called Reapers! We need to get rid of them, or they'll tear us apart!"

Yosuke grimaced as he danced out of the way of Magatsu' blade. "That's gonna be a tall order, the way things are going!" yelled the brunette as he directed Susano-O to unleash a small tornado on Adachi's persona. A flash of black drew the beings attention, and quick reflexes narrowly allowed him to avoid being impaled as Izanagi locked blades with his fearsome counterpart.

Yu stood just behind him, brow furrowed as he concentrated his willpower into his Persona. "I'll handle this sham, you guys hit those Reapers!" he yelled, wincing as Izanagi was pushed backwards. The others nodded, and split apart to counter the enemy shadows, which had pulled up in a flanking position. Yukiko, Chie, and Rise stood facing one on the far left of the field, standing in the ruins of what appeared to be the Moel Gas Station, and the two combative Persona wielders began their assault as Rise provided support. Teddie and Yosuke were already throwing down with another, clambering over the heaps of debris as their Persona's sent barrage after barrage of wind and ice at the creature, effectively creating a snowstorm with their efforts. Kanji, Naoto, and Souji faced the final Reaper, with the ex-punk sending his Persona to grapple with the Shadow while Naoto cast pinpoint spells in an attempt to weaken their foe, Souji casting support spells and occasionally asking Morpheus to intervene when Rokuten Maoh was thrown back.

The three groups were having a tough time with their battles, as the Reapers were deftly evading many of their attacks while scoring critical injuries on the Investigation Team. Yu didn't have time to watch them, much less help them as Magatsu-Izanagi bore down on him. Cursing out loud, the silverette leaped out of the way as the corrupted Persona's blade struck the spot where he'd been standing. Yu rolled back onto his feet, and immediately directed Izanagi to attack, and the tall Persona leaped up from the spot where he'd been thrown to comply. The two Persona's traded blow after blow, neither willing to give in, and Adachi laughed in the background.

"Can't you all see the futility in what you're doing?" he asked. "I told you it was pointless, trying to stop me! Now you dumb brats are gonna have to pay the price!" The detective laughed again at the Reapers threw back the Team members they were facing. The teens landed hard on their backs or stomachs, and struggled to rise again. Yu looked at his brother and friends in desperation before returning his gaze to Magatsu-Izanagi. His eyes flared as he thought about the year he'd had, the countless struggles to simply move forward as they searched for the resolution to their fight.

"To hell with you, Adachi!" screamed Yu. "We didn't come all this way to get a lecture from some worthless criminal who can't decide on whether or not he wants to live or die!" The effect Yu's words had on the detective was visible, and Adachi's angry response caused his Persona to lapse slightly. Yu grinned, and pushed Izanagi to take advantage of the momentary weakness. Izanagi threw a quick punch to his foes jaw, throwing its head back sharply. He then reached up to grab Magatsu's coat collar, and pulled hard, thrusting his blade into the corrupted Persona's torso. Magatsu-Izanagi writhed in pain, and Yu called for lightning as he continued his assault. Izanagi's blade flashed as it became enveloped in the destructive force, and twisted his blade to gouge deeper as Magatsu was electrocuted.

The enemy Persona disappeared, and Adachi fell to his knees as he tried desperately to withstand the pain tearing through his body. Yu turned to look around, and saw his friends back on their feet. Souji stood in the center of the group, casting spell after spell and directing his friends alongside Rise, who was stalwartly providing support as she identified the Reaper's tactics. The three Shadows barely had time to recover from the blows that were being rained upon them as the Investigation team renewed their assault with more success than before. Souji grinned widely as the Reapers came back-to-back-to-back, deciding that they might have better luck if they grouped together. They were horribly mistaken. The silverette grabbed Naoto's attention, and together the two began casting Megidolaon. Yu ran up beside them and summoned Helel, and began casting Morning Star alongside his brother and the sleuth.

The others unleashed their own attacks, attacking the three Reapers all at once. They backed away as Rise shouted a warning, and watched as a massive pillar of golden light shot down, followed by two massive orbs of energy encircling the pillar. The resulting explosion forced the Team to avert their eyes, and they only dared look after the dust had begun to clear. The reapers were gone, and Adachi was sprawled across the ground, unconscious. Yosuke gasped for breath as he looked at his friends. "Did…Did we actually win?" he panted questioningly. The others nodded, collapsing to the ground as they tried to regain their strength.

Souji looked around, sweat pouring from his face. He felt a small weight against his left right side, and turned to see the back of Naoto's head as she leaned against him. He smiled as Yu also decided to lean against his brother's back, and could only shake his head as the others decided to follow suit, everyone leaning against everyone for support. "We did it, guys." Souji smiled as he received looks of tired joy, but a sudden feeling in his stomach made him stop. He looked over at Adachi, looking to see if the man still fought on. What he saw caused him to stand slowly, and the look on his face made the others follow his gaze.

Yosuke swore as he saw what was going on; Adachi had begun to float, shrouded in darkness, and stared at the teens with disdain. He opened his mouth to speak, and a low voice came forth, mixing with Adachi's own voice as it spoke. "All humans will become Shadows…And I shall descend upon the united world...as the master of order." Rise shouted a warning as Adachi floated even higher, and the detective began to speak again. "Both this world and yours will soon be enclosed in a fog that never lifts. It will be the peaceful world that mankind has longed for..."

Naoto looked at Adachi angrily. "Who are you!?" she yelled, and the figure spoke calmly, without emotion.

"I…am Ameno-sagiri" it stated. "One who rules the fog. One awakened by man's desires. Do what you will, but your world's erosion cannot be stopped. It is an inevitability...You played your part well, stirring up the will of the masses into madness. But that will soon come to an end...Mankind will soon become Shadows and live on in the darkness of the fog, oblivious of their reality... I am the one that shepherds humans to their true desires. Though their hearts longed for peace, it could never be attained...So they tore down the wall between image and reality. Indeed, this is the outcome desired by mankind. And mankind's desires are my desires. That is why I decided to expand this world..."

Some of the team stuttered in surprise; the being before them had created this world? "This is part of the sea of unconsciousness that exists within human hearts. A hollow forest born from bloated desire and false imagery. Humans view things as they see fit. They wish not for truth, but rather prefer the undesirables be hidden in fog...Still, humans fear what they cannot see. That brief yearning for truth becomes a ray of light which breaks the fog and torments the Shadows..." Ameno-sagiri looked almost amused. "Mankind abandoned its pursuit of truth, placing itself in the depth of chaos and falsehood. Thus, my strength has grown, and the fog will not lift. Your world will be engulfed by the hollow forest."

Chie shook her head, growing frustrated. "Will you shut up already?!" she yelled. "We'll just use our power to beat the heck outta you, and it'll all be over!"

Ameno-sagiri chuckled softly. "It was I who made it possible for you to bring about this destiny...I bestowed power onto those who could brave the hollow forest. That is what allowed you to come in contact with this world...And you all have done very well since." The team gasped in shock; they had received their powers…from this thing?! Souji shook his head; Morpheus definitely hadn't come to exist within his mind on accident, but he also hadn't been manipulated by some being claiming to be an all-powerful guardian of humanities desires.

"To hell with that!" yelled the silverette. "You talk as if the things we've done were all pre-destined! That our struggles and suffering were just some plan that you had from the beginning. That's complete bullshit!" Souji trembled with fury. "The way I feel, the way I've grown, it wasn't because of some _thing_ like you! It was because of the people around me!" He sensed, rather than saw, the looks of surprise on the faces of his friends beside him. "I didn't want to become close to anyone. I never wanted a feeling of attachment, because I knew it would only cause pain, that I would be leaving people behind that I'd probably never get to see again, just like before!" Tears began to fall from Souji's face, and Yu held his head down, shoulders shaking as he struggled to keep from falling apart as his brother told the secrets they held in their hearts.

Souji's voice cracked as he continued. "And yet, I found myself growing close to the people around me, even before I knew what was happening." His mind raced back to the first day of school, memories of life over the past year flashing rapidly through his head. "I grew, not just physically, but emotionally and mentally as well. I came to love this town, and the people in it!"

Naoto looked amazed as Souji spoke. "S-Senpai…" she murmured softly.

Souji shook his head. "The power I have didn't come from you, and you most certainly aren't some puppet master controlling us behind the scenes! If there is, then I'd bet my life that they are the ones who actually created all of this, but that being definitely isn't you! So come and reveal yourself to us, 'cause I guarantee you, we won't let you win; not this time, not ever!" A resounding cheer came from the silverette's friends as he finished, and their Persona's burst forth, staring down the floating figure of Adachi.

Ameno-sagiri regarded them briefly. "Very well." It said. "You have indeed gone against the expectations held for you. This power you've obtained…I must test its worth." Adachi's body began convulsing as countless shadows melded with the detective, engulfing him in a writhing mass of beings. The figure burst into flames, and disappeared as a large portal opened beneath it. Slowly, a massive sphere rose from its depths, a large eyeball in the middle. "I have come to judge your worth."


	32. A Measure of Peace

Yeesh, it's been a while since I've written an Authors note, huh? anyways, Hello everyone! Sorry about the lack of messages; I've been distracted by a certain author taking my work from me. If you've read my profile, you'll understand that a bit more. I had quite a time writing that last chapter, and I apologize if it doesn't read well, writing those fight scenes was a little difficult, as I'd just read a very somber Fic just before starting it. Probably not my best idea ever. This one finished up where we left off, and you'll see what happens afterwards. Sorry if I've been moving too fast again, life seems to want to get in the way, so I become a little more distracted each time I try to sit down and write. Anyways, here's chapter 32. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

To say the battle with Ameno-sagiri was underwhelming would have been an understatement, though it hadn't started out that way.

The Investigation team was exhausted, their energy was drained, and they felt battered and bruised from their latest fight. The sagiri in front of them definitely didn't look as if it would make it easy for the team to succeed, and the teens darted around as they tried to avoid meteors, laser-beams, and spells of all kinds. Their weapons barely made a dent in the beings thick shell, and many times they were saved from certain doom thanks to a quick burst of healing from Rise's Persona.

The twins were at a loss as they danced away from another meteor that buried itself next to them. "You know, those words of yours were really inspiring and all, but I'm thinking that we might be SOL here." Yu said, cutting at Ameno-sagiri's body again.

Souji shook his head. "Yeah, well I don't see you coming up with any useful plans here, smart ass!"

Yu let go a short bark of laughter, followed by a grunt of pain as he was struck by a bolt of lightning. "Maybe we should try falling asleep, then? Didn't you say that was always a good decision?" The "elder" silverette turned to repel a blast of fire that was headed for Souji as he spoke, protecting his brother.

Souji shook his head, and was about to give Yu another sarcastic response when an idea struck him. "Yu, you're a damned genius!" he said, and took off to stand in front of Ameno-sagiri's large eye. "Yo, cyclops! Down here!" he yelled, gaining the beings attention.

The sagiri turned to look at the silverette, intent on burning him to a crisp, but stopped moving as its gaze rested on two glowing objects. Morpheus was holding his single staff in front of him, both ends glowing brightly as multi-colored mist poured forth. "Well, the guardian of humanities desires isn't as impressive as I'd have thought." Morpheus said with a hint of sarcasm. "Fortunately, your claim of relation to humanity is true, otherwise, this'd never have worked." The Dream-lord began walking towards Ameno-sagiri, slowly twirling his staff as he moved, spinning the mist round and round.

The Investigation Team, no longer having to fend off the many attacks that had been battering them, came up to see what had happened, and stared in awe as Morpheus came to a halt a few feet in front of the large sagiri.

Morpheus cackled, the sound disturbing yet comforting at the same time. "I can't stress this enough. The dreams of humanity are my domain. None may interfere in my realm. You cannot hope to understand the wishes of humanity, just as you cannot begin to see the dreams they hold! Out of all the beings here, _I_ know what it is they seek." Morpheus raised the staff above his head, spinning it faster and faster, creating a vortex of silver, purple, and white mist. "Humanity seeks a peaceful truth; they do not wish for a peaceful lie, nor do they want a painful truth. They naively seek the best of both worlds. However, I believe that their natural obstinance will allow them to reach their goal. The humans have a saying." Morpheus slammed the staff into the ground, and the mist collected into a small sphere at the head of the white staff, which was upraised.

"Nothing's impossible."

Morpheus' mist shot forward, wrapping around the sagiri. "I can only hold him for so long!" yelled the Persona. The team nodded, and sent their personas forward to attack. Susano-O and Yamato-Takeru cast wind spells, lifting the impossibly large being off the ground. Suzuka-Gongen and Rokuten-Maoh slashed viciously with their weapons, cutting at Ameno-sagiri's thick shell. Kamui and Amaterasu pounded the enemy with their own ice and fire spells respectively, battering it back. Izanagi flew forward, sword held in front of him. The blade pierced the sagiri's shell, and was embedded deep into it. The tall warrior reversed his grip on the swords' handle, and shot upwards, travelling the length of Ameno-sagiri's body. The personas pulled away after a few moments as Morpheus' mist dissipated. Souji looked exhausted, and fell back onto the ground, breathing hard. Kanji helped Souji back up, and supported his weight as the sagiri spoke.

"I see...Your powers are strong. Power comes from the heart...You have proven to me human potential...Very well. I will lift the fog from the place where you will return to. Mankind's desires are my desires. If mankind so wishes, I will return at any time...I am always at your side, watching..." The sagiri rumbled softly as it started to fade.

"Don't hold your breath…" Souji murmured, feeling weakness in his legs. If Kanji hadn't been holding him, he likely would have collapsed again.

"Easy, Senpai…" the ex-punk said, a concerned look on his face.

Souji chuckled softly. "Well, at least I'm not having to stare at you almost completely naked this time" he said, thinking that this situation was very similar to the scene at Kanji's bathhouse. Kanji's face flushed, and he punched Souji's shoulder in response. Yu chortled at the sight, shaking his head as his friends began to laugh quietly.

"Well, I think we actually did it this time." Souji said, leaning on Kanji for support. Looking around, he noticed Adachi laying on his back a few feet away. The silverette motioned for Kanji to move him over to the detective, the others following him. Souji knelt down with some help and looked at Adachi.

The detective was awake, but couldn't move his body. "Leave me here. You came to kill me, right?" Adachi spat weakly, and Souji shook his head.

"That isn't how we work, Adachi…" he said softly.

Kanji nodded behind him. "You're a dumbass" the tailor said gruffly.

Yosuke came over to look at Adachi squarely. "If we leave you here dying...and a dead body eventually appears, then what? What's that accomplish for anyone...? Your stupid game's over. We're taking you back. Live and face your punishment...That's how it works in our world." The brunette said sternly.

Adachi let loose a short bark of laughter. "You dumb brats. Fine, I'll go back and serve my time." Adachi's eyes looked a little sad as he turned to look at the twins. "Maybe if I had been more like you, things wouldn't have gone this way..." he mumbled, then closed his eyes as he fell unconscious.

Souji made to stand, leaning on his brother for support as Kanji hefted Adachi onto his shoulder. "Let's head home" said the silverette. Teddie nodded, and beseeched Kamui to cast Traesto, taking the team, and Adachi, back to the apartment room near the studio.

* * *

Souji wiped his forehead of the slight sweat he'd managed to work up. It was December 23rd, and he was in the process of baking a small cake. Naoto had sent him a text in her usual format.

"SEE U TOMORROW? Y/N  
PLZ REPLY ASAP"

Souji had looked at the calendar, and immediately rushed to Junes to pick up supplies, having forgotten Christmas Eve was tomorrow. The past few days had seen him working around the clock at the Inaba PD, helping Naoto out now that she had been allowed back within the building's confines, to help sort the work they had in building a case against Adachi. Dojima was still in the hospital, so the chief had tasked Souji with sorting through the paperwork the elder detective had piled up in order to get it ready for his uncles return. The busy schedule, combined with frequent visits to check on a recovering Nanako and happy Dojima, had distracted Souji from recognizing the passing days.

Yu came downstairs, yawning a bit as he smelled the baking cake. "Morning…" he said drowsily as he sat down at the table, seeing a plate of breakfast and his mug full of coffee at one of the open spots. Souji turned and grunted a morning greeting to his brother before turning back to the bowl of icing he was preparing. Yu quietly ate his breakfast, glancing up occasionally as Souji wandered back and forth between their room and the kitchen, looking a bit frantic. "What's the matter?" asked Yu as Souji came back into the kitchen for the fourth time.

Souji shook his head. "Well, Christmas Eve is tomorrow, and I forgot to get Naoto a gift…" the silverette trailed off as Yu flashed a knowing grin.

"Ah, I take it you're going to have a visitor tomorrow night then, huh?" he said mischievously, enjoying the look of embarrassment on his brother's face.

Souji started to reply before realizing what Yu had said. "What do you mean, ' _you're'_?" he asked, turning to stare at Yu.

The other twin grinned even wider than before as Souji caught on. "Well, I'm most certainly not going to be here. Rise's invited me over for Christmas Eve, and I'd be a horrible boyfriend if I didn't go." Yu stood up and walked over to the wall behind the couch, producing a small, elegantly wrapped gift from the space behind the box of booze Dojima had. "And, unlike a certain someone, I'm already prepared." Yu's grin widened even more at Souji's look of annoyance, and Souji thought that if his brother smiled any wider, he'd have to have surgery to fix his face.

"Fine then."

Souji scoffed as he turned back to the oven in front of him, checking on the cake he had inside; it was almost done. Yu chuckled as he came up behind his brother, placing his arm on Souji's shoulder as he leaned against him. "Don't worry, I'll help you figure something out after you've finished up here." Souji rolled his eyes, but thanked Yu nonetheless. The timer dinged as it finished counting down, and Souji reached forward, removing the hot pan from the oven, and placed the pan on a thick pad, gently removing the cake and placing it on a metal wire rack to cool. After a shot while, Souji pulled the bowl of icing and a box of candied fruit from the fridge, and began spreading the icing across the cake, delicately placing each fruit in a circle on the top of the cake to give it some color.

Yu nodded as he observed his brother; Souji was a master cook by all rights, and his dedication to the craft made for excellent meals, though Yu was no slouch in the kitchen either. Souji finished with his decoration, and placed the cake on a small platter, covering it with a glass lid he'd bought at the store before putting it into the fridge for safe-keeping. The silverette then made his way over to the couch, plopping down on it as he thought about what he could get his girlfriend for Christmas.

He knew nothing stereotypically feminine would be appropriate; Naoto wasn't one to wear a bunch of jewellery, nor did she like perfume or other such "girly" things. Souji shook his head; finding a good gift for Naoto might be harder than he thought.

"I'm going to the bookstore…" he mumbled as he stood up.

Yu looked at his brother, eyebrows raised. "Okay…? Make sure you grab a coat; it's getting pretty cold out there." Souji nodded as he grabbed his robe from the hook in the front hall, throwing it on as it morphed into the winter coat from before. He stepped out and looked around, noting the small bit of frost gracing the ground, and set off towards the central shopping district.

* * *

Souji entered the bookstore with a sigh; this was his favorite haunt whenever he felt stressed or simply wanted some quiet. He nodded a greetings to the owner, who tipped his hat welcomingly at his favorite customer; Souji had bought any and every book that had been released over the past year.

Souji walked through the aisles a bit aimlessly, eyes searching the books without really seeing them. He sighed as he thought about the next day. Here he was, wandering without a purpose, without a gift for the girl he loved for Christmas, and was unable to come up with any good ideas for one. He leaned against the end of one shelf and looked at his feet. What was he going to say to her? _"Hey there, Naoto! Merry Christmas! I baked you a cake, but I didn't get you a single gift! Aren't I great!?"_ Souji snorted as he thought about that. Yeah, that definitely would go over well with the sleuth.

Souji looked up, noticing the section he was in; Mystery. He shrugged his shoulders and walked through it, scanning the books. Maybe he could find a good book to distract him for a bit while he thought. He browsed through the many leather and paper-back books, finding nothing of interest. Suddenly, Souji came to a stop as he spied a book that was out of place amongst the many modern books.

An old cloth-bound book sat under a pile of books in the back, seemingly forgotten and covered with dust. Souji reached a hand out, removing the books on top of it, and pulled it out delicately. It was very old, without even a title on the front or spine, and the pages were yellowed. Looking up, he noticed more similarly bound books hiding around the shelves, all bearing the same design as the one in his hand, but each varied slightly in color. Soon, Souji had a small pile of the books, having searched for any more and found none. He gingerly opened them one by one, and the expression on his face grew into a large smile as he saw what was contained within.

He ran back to the front to borrow a small wicker basket the owner had at the front, then returned to the pile and swiftly, but carefully, placed each book into the basket before carrying them to the counter. The owner looked surprised at the contents of the basket, but shrugged and gave Souji the cost while placing the teens purchase into a large bag. Souji gladly paid the man for the books, thanking him before leaving, and carried the books swiftly home. He'd found something better than he could have ever hoped for.

* * *

Souji smiled as he heard a knock on his front door. He opened it to reveal a somewhat cold looking Naoto, carrying a small duffel bag. "G-Good evening, Senpai!" she said, looking up at the silverette's face.

"Good evening, Naoto. Would you like to come in?"

Naoto nodded swiftly. "I-If it's not too much of a bother…" Souji shook his head, his smile growing as he stepped aside to let the ace detective inside. He closed the door and turned to take her coat, placing it on the hook next to his own. Naoto sat on the couch in the living room while Souji prepared some hot chocolate for the two of them.

He handed Naoto a cup of the beverage before placing his on the tea table, and joined her on the couch. Naoto blushed deeply at the proximity of her boyfriend, and chose to stare into her drink as she spoke. "Thank you…for inviting me over, Senpai…" she murmured, blowing softly on the drink to cool it before she took a sip.

Souji smiled as he watched her, admiring her features before responding. "I'm glad you could make it…" he said quietly.

Naoto placed her cup on the table, and held her head down as she reached up to pull down the brim of her ever-present cap. "Err…" she began "are we alone…?" she asked, earning a small nod from Souji.

"Yu went to Rise's, and Nanako and Uncle Dojima are still in the hospital, so we have the house to ourselves."

Naoto nodded. "Ah…" was her quiet response. Souji stood up and offered the sleuth his hand, which was taken with some hesitation. He led her upstairs to his room and sat her down at the small table before returning downstairs to retrieve the cake from the fridge, along with some silverware and, of course, the cocoa they had left on the tea table. He returned to his room to find Naoto looking around, having placed her bag by the model shelf. Souji leaned against the doorframe as he watched her, chuckling a bit when a small gasp escaped her as she registered his return.

He placed the cake down in the middle of the table; their cups were placed on opposite ends of the table, along with the silverware. Naoto looked down shyly, then raised her head as she attempted to make small talk.

"U-Um… It's pretty cold outside!" She blushed and looked back down as Souji only smiled in response; the teen was having a hard time finding any words as he stared at her, lost in the simple beauty that was Naoto. "Ah, well, uhh…I-I'm sorry… I guess I'm nervous… because, um, we're the only ones here…" Naoto shifted in embarrassment, earning a small laugh from Souji.

"It's alright, Naoto, don't be so nervous. I don't bite…much." Souji's eyes twinkled as Naoto's head snapped up, a dark blush covering her face.

The frazzled detective managed to stammer out a compliment about the cake, then apologized. "I'm sorry I was late…I made you something, and had to run home to go get it…" Naoto pulled a small box out from her bag, and handed it to Souji. She watched apprehensively as he opened it, smiling at the contents. "I customized this watch. It has the normal functions of a digital watch, but…" she trailed off, looking down as she spoke softly. "It can also tell you where I am…It's just a toy, though, so it only has a radius of a few meters." She looked up at Souji, eyes gleaming. "And… J-Just so you know, my watch has a similar function…" Naoto blushed as she continued. "My watch can tell me… where you are" she murmured quietly, revealing the same watch on her right wrist.

Souji nodded, feeling his eyes sting a bit as they began to water. "I love it, Naoto. Thank you…" The detective blushed at the praise she received, and looked up to see Souji remove a medium-sized box from behind the twin's futons. Souji handed it to her, and Naoto stared at it, suddenly unsure as what to do. "Go ahead and open it." Souji said, smiling gently. Naoto, shocked into action, slowly removed the wrapping and opened the box. Her eyes widened as she lifted one of the books Souji had bought from within, and she gingerly opened the book to read its contents.

" _The Hounds of the Baskervilles_

 _By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle_

 _1_ _st_ _edition print"_

Naoto held the book to her chest, closing her eyes briefly before turning to gaze at her boyfriend. "Wherever did you find these?" she asked, and Souji beamed at the adoration he saw in her eyes.

"The bookshop had them. They were buried under other books, so they were a bit hard to find. I was surprised when I found all of his works just sitting in there, especially since they were so old."

Naoto nodded, and carefully placed the book back into the box. She stood and walked over to Souji, who was now standing himself, and wrapped her arms tightly around him, the silverette embracing her close in return. "Thank you, Senpai." Naoto's voice was slightly muffled by Souji's Yasogami gakuran, and the boy noticed for the first time that Naoto was also dressed in her school uniform.

She broke away from Souji and glanced nervously at her bag, shifting a bit on her feet. "U-Uh…I have something to show you." Naoto blushed as she spoke, and slowly walked over to her bag and pulled out a bundle of folded clothing. Souji raised his eyebrows as he sat down on the couch.

"Err…What would that be?" he asked, suddenly feeling very nervous as he looked at the ever-deepening blush rising on Naoto's face.

Naoto shook her head and spoke very quietly. "I…I'd like you to see me in a school uniform…"

Souji tilted his head a bit. "Umm…aren't you already wearing our school uniform? What do you mean?" The silverette's eyes widened as he realized what Naoto was talking about, serving to cause Naoto to flush a deep crimson as she excused herself to the bathroom to change. She walked back in a short while after, and Souji had to do a double-take to make sure he was looking at the same Naoto from before.

She was indeed wearing the girl's uniform from Yasogami, and looked a bit uncomfortable in it as she stood, arms held up in front of her and legs close together, bent slightly. Souji's jaw dropped as he took in the view; his former idol-turned-friend-turned-girlfriend looked positively stunning, and he stop the heat he felt rising to his cheeks as he opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, trying to somehow remember what words were.

Naoto still held the same shade of crimson she'd had when she left the room, and spoke very softly. "Yakushiji-san prepared it for me…I know this is what all the girls wear, but, um… Isn't the skirt too short…?"

Souji finally managed to remember how to speak, and shook his head so as to bring himself back to reality. He turned his head away slightly to compose himself before giving her a small smile, eyes shining. "It…it looks really cute on you, Naoto" he said, causing Naoto to stammer out a denial.

"P-Please stop! Don't embarrass me…" the sleuth looked down at the floor, trying to lessen the heat she felt in her face before continuing. "I-I think I'll stick with my normal outfit…I'd feel awkward all day if I wore it at school." Naoto smiled however, looking back up at Souji appreciatively. "But I'm happy that I showed it to you. Thank you, Senpai."

Souji nodded, and stood up to embrace his girlfriend lightly. "Why don't you go change back into something you're comfortable with? I'll clean up here." Naoto nodded lightly as she returned the gesture before grabbing some clothes from her bag, heading back to the bathroom to change again. Souji, in the meantime, cleaned up the dishes he'd brought up, grabbing the cups and cake platter, and brought them downstairs, storing the cake back in the fridge and putting the cups in the sink to be washed later. He came to the foot of the stairs to see Naoto coming out of the bathroom, wearing a pair of loose fitting pajamas.

Souji froze on the spot, as did Naoto when she glanced down the stairway and saw him. Neither spoke, and Naoto's eyes were wide as she tried to think of a reasonable excuse as to her intent. Souji quickly got over his small shock and smiled warmly at the young detective, taking the stairs two at a time before coming to a stop in front of her.

"S-S-Senpai! I, err…that is…"

Naoto began to stutter nervously until she noticed Souji's shoulders shaking as he failed to hide his laughter. "It's not funny, Senpai!" she said indignantly, which only caused Souji to laugh harder. Naoto stalked into the room, gathering her bag up in a huff, but stopped as she felt two arms wrap gently around her waist.

"Leaving so soon, then?" Souji asked quietly, tickling Naoto's ear with his breath as he spoke.

The sleuth blushed as she sensed how close his face was to hers before answering. "I…I was hoping…that I might be able to spend the night with you…" she murmured softly, causing Souji to give her a gentle squeeze with his arms before he turned her around to face him.

Souji's silver eyes met hers, and Naoto saw the passion in them as he spoke. "Of course…I'd love that." Souji moved closer, cupping Naoto's cheek with one hand, wrapping his other arm around her to hold her left shoulder. Naoto tilted her head slightly, eye's half closed as she moved closer to Souji, and the two teens fell into a deep kiss, each grasping the other tightly as if to pull them closer together. In what seemed like too short a time, the moment ended, and Souji and Naoto pulled away from each other, gasping slightly as they did so.

Souji smiled softly, and led Naoto to his futon before leaving to change into his own pajamas. As he came back, he saw that Naoto was still sitting where he'd left her, fingers raised to her lips as she smiled, a dreamy look in her eyes. Souji shut off the lights and walked over to her, laying down beside her as they pulled the covers over themselves. As they looked at their watches to take them off, they smiled at the reading on them, a small _beep_ emanating from the devices.

" _Distance: 1m"_.


End file.
